Reading 08: The Noosphere

When I talk to friends and family about software these days, the main idea that gets circulated is the sheer value in the industry. The wealth that companies have generated with software in the last 20 years makes it rather obvious as to why, but this lovely motivation does not exist at the center of all software communities. In this week’s readings, Eric S. Raymond (ESR) describes how the unique world of open-source software is upheld not by money, but by a unique “gift culture”, social norms, and personal motivation.

ESR explains open-source software as having “no serious shortage of the `survival necessities'—disk space, network bandwidth, computing power. Software is freely shared.” So, if there is are no resources or monetary gains to compete for, why would you contribute to open-source software? For open-source programmers, a main motivation became the reputation they could earn amongst their peers. This reputation is a self-satisfying reward on its own, but it quickly snowballs in open-source development circles. As you gain more prestige, you open doors for more attention, cooperation, and collaboration with others. Ironically, in a community decentered from monetary gain, this reputation can developers to wealth through these connections.

If you are able to gain reputation, however, you can just as easily lose it. ESR’s list of open-source taboos includes forking projects, distributing changes without cooperation of moderators, and removing a developer’s credit with explicit permission to do so. While these unofficial taboos may seem arbitrary, they are unanimously conformed to and actively strengthen the community. For example, forking projects can expose creators to a reputation risk as they lack the ability to actively contribute to child projects. These taboos cause localized harm to the project contributors, and by avoiding them, you encourage more potential contributors to join the community overall.

Of course, the aforementioned “gift economy” is not the sole motivation for open-source contributors. A vast majority of contributors cite enjoyment, kinship, helping others, and altruism as motivations for their work. I found ESR’s writings on the joy of hacking to be particularly interesting when he describes this enjoyment as a method to fulfill a totality of needs. By gaining reputation, ESR suggests that you can fulfill lower-level desires like peer esteem that enable you to find greater happiness in just the work itself.

The role of reputation and a “gift community” provides a conflicting sense of motivation for involving myself in open-source projects. The idea of widespread fame is unappealing, but I would certainly enjoy a good reputation and the passive benefits that come with it in a community that relates closely to my own interests. I am more motivated now to look into some open-source projects surrounding the gaming communities I frequent, and hopefully I can find something that catches my eye soon.