The Problem with Open Source: Know Your History

The problem with the Open Source community is a problem of not knowing the history of social movements. There needs to be greater trans-disciplinary development within the community that builds upon the arts and humanities in addition to just computer science and engineering. There also needs to be a critique of the tyranny of structurelessness that exists within many projects and organizations, fostering the governance model of the benevolent dictatorship. As well a debunking of the myth of meritocracy, a system that actually reinforces divisions of hierarchy rather than leveling or distributing them. My argument is that the history of social movements holds lessons and answers for these problems and that the Open Source community needs to learn from them before being doomed to repeat them.

Jesse Hirsh Jesse Hirsh is a broadcaster, researcher, and Internet evangelist in Toronto, Canada. He frequently appears on CBC radio and has a weekly spot on CBC Newsworld, where he explains and analyzes the latest trends and developments in technology using accessible and illuminating language. He also hosts an interfaith show on Rogers/OMNI called 3D Dialogue. He owns and operates the consulting firm Openflows Networks Ltd., which specializes in using free software for open source intelligence. Primarily, this involves researching and deploying advanced Internet-based platforms for companies and organizations, both large and small.