Archive of UserLand's first discussion group, started October 5, 1998.

Re: Open Source -- a void unto itself

Author:Dave Winer
Posted:7/21/2000; 9:31:08 AM
Topic:Open Source -- a world onto itself
Msg #:18867 (In response to 18866)
Prev/Next:18866 / 18868

Of course it's a generalization.

Just like there were Mac developers and there was Apple..

There are open source developers and gatekeepers.

Be sure that there are companies that want to capture the flow of ideas in the "Open Source World" just as they were there in the Mac market, and Windows, and so on.

I think of them as gatekeepers. They define political correctness. That's why, if SOAP or RSS are to be discussed at the conference you're at, it will only be done by people who are employed by gatekeepers or invested-in by gatekeepers. It's pretty self-serving, and not well-enough disclosed or understood.

When you invite your competitors in, that's true Weblike power. That's one thing the OSS gatekeepers mostly don't get. There's a mutualness to the Web that they don't practice well enough.

That's the real revolution Josh, it's in the tossing of the parachute, not in building astrodomes to capture the playing field.

Be part of the universe, not captive. Little has changed with the overhype of OSS. Meet the new boss, almost exactly like the old boss. Eventually routed around, with ease.

Let it play out. You'll see, I'm sure of it.

BTW, the reason I cover this is because the developers have lives that go beyond the communities they "belong" to. No one really belongs, for long. I want to work with other developers, even if the gatekeepers don't want it, that's fine, eventually we'll form another club that doesn't have so many rules, and we will work together.

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