The 6 dimensions of Open Source Sep 10, 2010, 12 :32 UTC (2 Talkback[s]) (4164 reads)
"Why do people choose to participate in Open Source ? It’s always a mix of various reasons, so let’s try to explore and classify them.
"Technical
"The first dimension is technical. People like open source because looking directly in the code gives them the ability to understand the behavior of their software. No documentation can match that level of precision. They also like the ability to fix it themselves when it’s broken, rather than relying on usually-broken support contracts. Any non-Fortune500 that tried to report a bug to Microsoft and get it fixed will probably get my point. Sometimes, they like the ability to shape and influence the future of the software, when that software uses open design mechanisms (like Ubuntu with its free and open-to-anyone Development Summits). Finally, they may be convinced, like I am, that open source software development methods result in better code quality."
