Indirect benefits of working on open source
| free and open source(This is not even a draft – more like table-napkin scribblings for my article for a class I'm taking)
Working on open source also has indirect benefits for local
developers. Surveys show that open source development helps developers
learn some skills more effectively than they would in formal computing
courses.(Give examples, cite link)
Because most open source projects are freely available for download,
developers can experiment with new technologies at little financial
risk. In the process of customizing and packaging the software for
use, local developers improve their technical skills. Open source code
and customizing it allows local developers to learn from projects far
larger than any they could work on in a formal computing course.
Because open source is typically developed by large,
geographically-distributed teams, tools such as version control
systems and mailing lists are essential. Open source developers
quickly learn not only how to use these tools, but also how to work
with other people.
Developers who contribute code and other resources back to the global
open source communities can also benefit from informal
apprenticeships. Their contributions can be peer-reviewed by more
experienced developers, and they can get feedback from users and
co-developers around the world.
Open source provides a way for developers to improve their skills and
gain real-world experience even if proprietary software companies do
not have development opportunities in the area. Open source can also
be a form of nearly-free knowledge transfer between global developers
and local developers.
Random Emacs symbol: cross-disabled-images – Variable: Non-nil means always draw a cross over disabled images.
2 comments
Hagis
2020-07-18T07:08:09ZTriggered by your last post on free software, I've been reading your posts on open source and free software. Your last post is only about "free", meaning, "no price" software, it doesn't talk about the real values behind free (libre) software, the social and moral philosophy behind it. It only is approached in your posts from an utilitarian, entrepreneurial point of view (plus personal, from a point of view of a privilege Western citizen). I would have expected to read about libre software given your reach. Also you talk and promote open source, while open source is a development notion more business oriented which isn’t as ethical as you think it is: Open source communities are exclusionary. According to a recent survey by GitHub, 95% of open source contributors are male. 3% identified as female, and 1% as non-binary (This is actually double the number from a few years ago.) Meanwhile, 16% identified as being from a minority background. There are lots of compounding reasons for this: for example, only certain kinds of people can afford to volunteer their time for software projects. Often companies have gender and minority policies and implement positive discrimination that is not possible with open source software. So not all proprietary software is evil and not all open source is good.
When we call software “free,” we mean that it respects the users' essential freedoms: the freedom to run it, to study and change it, and to redistribute copies with or without changes. This is a matter of freedom, not price, so think of “free speech,” not “free beer.” This should be emphasised more.
OPEN SOURCE: a person from an underrepresented background building software and giving it away for free to a Fortune 500 company (THIS IS NOT RADICAL). What is radical? Them getting *ucking paid.
sachac
2020-07-22T03:39:13ZThanks for your passionate advocacy. =) I do feel pretty privileged. In the ~14 years since I wrote the post above, I have actually managed to get paid for working on and with free-and-libre software. (And by a Fortune 500 company, at that!)
I'm a terrible advocate for software freedom. There are many more who are more eloquent and/or more ideologically committed. I use non-free, non-open source apps on my phone. I've shared tips on non-free programs. I link to useful resources on non-free networks. I use "open source" when talking to people who use the "open source" term and "free software" when talking to people who use the "free software" term. I'm not up to date on the latest hullaballoos in the free software community. Mostly I just focus on Emacs, so my experience of software freedom is probably a bit rosy-coloured, or at least I think http://techrights.org/2020/... thinks so. If you went through my archive, you'd probably shake your head in more disappointment. (Yeah, it's probably not worth going through all those posts.)
I do warmly appreciate the awesomeness shared by people who have thought more deeply about the philosophy behind all of that. If you happen to think of a great way to explain your passion for free software and you like the FSF, they're looking for more contributions at https://lists.libreplanet.o... . If you don't like the FSF, that's cool too; you can find other ways to share your passion. =)
Thanks again for caring about this!