Transfer of open source principles to diverse collaborative communities

Jill Coffin
Digital Media, Georgia Institute of Technology

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     Last modified: September 9, 2005

Abstract
Open source culture and practice emerged as computer hackers networked to take control over the production, ownership and distribution of their skilled labor. As a movement, free software and open source hackers developed organizational and dialog structures to support their ethos. This paper introduces a list of traits common to successful free software and open source hacker communities. These traits are applied as a framework to analyze three non-hacker, collaborative communities to better understand successful collaborative practice. While this framework may not tell the whole story of these communities, the analysis yields observations relevant to the design of collaborative systems.

The framework consists of the following characteristics of successful free software and open source communities:

• open and widespread membership based upon participation
• geographically distributed, asynchronous, networked collaboration
• project transparency: open, recorded dialog; peer review of project materials, discussion and decisions
• collaborative, iteratively clarified living documents and project artifacts
• a community-wide sense of project ownership
• a hybrid political system based upon meritocracy
• a benevolent dictator, typically the project founder
• a compelling foundational artifact to organize participation around and to build upon
• foundational developers and early adopters who, along with the benevolent dictator, set project ethos
• consensus as a decision-making tool
• a mechanism for institutional history
• playfulness, taking the serious humorously and humor seriously
• upholding the right to fork.