From Collaborators to Consumers: Have We Killed the Soul of Open Source?
I discovered Open Source when I was just a teenager, back in 1996. At the time, in my eyes, it was a revolution: the ability to see the code, contribute, fork it, and give a project a new direction - perhaps a parallel one, or something completely different.
Like OpenBSD from NetBSD, DragonflyBSD from FreeBSD, or Nextcloud from Owncloud - the examples are endless. It was about freedom, the chance to be part of something or, in some cases, at the very center of something: its development.
To me, Open Source meant having the chance to develop an idea and find other people who shared it, turning what was just a project in my mind into a reality. All without needing big funding, a business plan, or having to risk anything. Just the pleasure of doing it and the joy of seeing it come to life. A waking dream.
Over time, I witnessed many exchanges of opinion - some of them quite heated - that led to hard forks or uncomfortable situations within development teams. People leaving, others taking over - you name it. But, in the end, the software was always at the center. It was an ideological battle over how to implement something (or how NOT to implement it).
This led to some fantastic pairings: Linux, a kernel without an operating system, and GNU, an operating system without a stable and complete kernel. Together, they revolutionized the world, changed the concept of computing, and proved that yes, Open Source works and produces quality software - often of a far greater quality than many of its closed-source, commercial counterparts.
And yet, there were the "distro wars" - and I didn't understand them. And if I didn't understand the distro wars back then, the situation today seems even more extreme. I appreciated the variety, the different ideas, and the different approaches, but never the fanaticism. I was a strong supporter of Debian, but I couldn't understand those who openly attacked alternatives (like Red Hat, at the time, or Suse). I thought: use what you like, contribute if you want but... hey, it's Open Source, you don't pay for it, you're not forced, just choose what you like best! If you're happy, tell the world. If you're dissatisfied, switch (to different software) or change THE software (meaning, implement what you think is necessary). But why wage war on others, on those with different ideas who made different choices? Is it the general polarization fueled by social media? Is it because Open Source has become more mainstream, bringing with it users who have a "consumer" mindset rather than a "collaborator" one?
And yet, there are still positive examples out there — quiet, solid, and often overlooked. The BSD projects, for instance, show us that it's still possible to diverge in philosophy and approach without descending into hostility. FreeBSD, OpenBSD, and NetBSD took different paths. And yet, there are no "wars" between them. Their communities may disagree on technical choices, but they coexist with mutual respect. You rarely see a FreeBSD user shouting "OpenBSD must die!" or a NetBSD developer trolling others on social media. The tone is sober, the work is steady, and the focus remains on the code and its quality - not on brand wars or personal egos.
This is the spirit I fell in love with: different ideas, mutual respect, and the shared goal of building something useful and free. We may not all agree on everything, but we can still build in parallel, learn from each other, and avoid turning diversity into division.
Lately, all of this is becoming truly extreme. I read, for example, sharp and violent opinions from Wayland users against X11 (Xorg, etc.) - "it must die!" But, I wonder, why this violence?
I use Wayland on Linux and X11 on FreeBSD - both on the same computer, both with satisfaction. Why should I hate one of them? If I don't like it... I simply don't use it.
The world is becoming increasingly polarized and bitter, making people less and less inclined towards dialogue or tolerance for those with different ideas or positions. But, I ask myself, why should this be happening in the world of Open Source?
We are all in the same boat. We have the tools, the freedom of choice, and it costs us nothing. If we don't like a solution, we can say so and choose something else. Why this violence? Cui prodest? Who benefits?
When we fight violently over Open Source software, when we lash out with intolerance against a solution we dislike, the entire Open Source world loses an opportunity. The opportunity to reduce the chances of ending up in a computing monoculture, the opportunity to have a choice, the opportunity for someone to listen to our well-reasoned observations and learn from them.
It's up to us, every day, with every comment and contribution, to decide whether we want to build bridges or raise walls.