“The free software model of software development, (if such a
thing exists), is about rapid detection of problems, rapid repair
of those problems, and the rapid acceptance and advance of entirely
new ideas. These conditions depend upon the participation and
collaboration of users and developers from a wide variety of
backgrounds. The original community of Linux developers was
self-selecting. For the most part they were young ‘hobbyists’ with
a broad interest in software who wanted something more adventurous
and versatile than early versions of Windows to run on their home
computers, something that echoed the professional world of Unix,
and allowed the user to explore the box.“Playing Pacman and pushing entries into spreadsheets was not
sufficient to their aim or their interest, and the emergence of
Linux not only gave them the opportunity to share their
discoveries, but to explore and expand their capabilities by
learning from others…”