The community is hard at work on something new.
Visitors to Opensource.com may have noticed that it has been relatively quiet on the platform lately. That temporary quietness is not a sign of winding down, but rather the opposite: a massive new project is currently in the works behind the scenes. While specific details and concrete announcements are still being finalized and kept under wraps for the moment, there is already plenty to discuss regarding the philosophy, history, and future of the platform. And what better way to start a conversation about the future of a global technological movement than by looking at the entire internet itself?
The Internet, and Top-Level Domains
To understand where the open source community is heading and why this new project matters, it helps to look back at the fundamental architecture of the internet. Most people know that the internet is a network. By definition, a network is simply a group of connections established between different entities to share data and resources. In fact, the very word "internet" is a portmanteau of "interconnected" and "network."
Originally, the internet consisted of just two primary networks: a military network established for defense logistics and research, and an academic network designed to connect universities and research institutions. As the digital age progressed and the internet became popular far outside those two specialized groups, it quickly became apparent that different designations were desperately needed. As millions of new users, organizations, and businesses came online, the digital ecosystem required a system to instantly differentiate a commercial enterprise from a charitable organization, a university, or a governmental department.
These critical designations are formally known as top-level domains, or TLDs. There are hundreds of available top-level domains today, ranging from specific geographic country codes to niche industry extensions, but for a long time, there were only a handful. Those original top-level domains remain remarkably popular and culturally embedded in how we navigate the web today. Most internet users know instinctively that when they visit a web address ending in .com, they are visiting a commercial site, whereas a visit to a .org address generally signifies a non-profit organization, public service, or advocacy group. These suffixes provide immediate context about the nature of the entity operating behind the screen.
Open Source Is a Network
Just as the internet itself is built on interconnected networks, open source can be many things, but it is always fundamentally a network. Open source software and philosophy can take on a commercial form, powering enterprise infrastructure and billion-dollar corporations. It can be non-profit, driving public-interest software and digital rights advocacy. It can be academic, serving as the foundation for breakthrough scientific research. It can even be purely cultural, empowering artists, writers, and creators to share and remix human knowledge.
No matter what specific form open source takes, it remains a network at its core. Sometimes—though certainly not always—that network is made up of computers, servers, and repositories sharing code across the globe. More importantly, however, it is a network of people. Whether individuals are gathering in person at a massive international conference, chatting casually at a local pub, or collaborating asynchronously in an online chat room, the true heart of open source is a vibrant, global community of human beings working together toward common goals.
For the past twelve years, the website Opensource.com has been proudly supported by a commercial entity, providing a dedicated digital space for stories, ideas, and news regarding open source software and culture. However, the people—that is, you and me, the writers, readers, developers, and advocates—who make up the actual Opensource.com community are not commercial entities. We are simply people, united by a shared passion for openness, collaboration, and the free exchange of knowledge.
Now, a major shift is approaching. In exactly one month, Opensource.com is going to resolve that long-standing structural mismatch and enter a new chapter. Stay tuned as more details about this exciting community-driven project are officially revealed.
