Open Source Software Development as Gift Culture: Work and Identity Formation in an Internet Community
Magnus Bergquist · 2020
The kind of free knowledge sharing and gift giving that had characterized software development in the 1960s and 1970s continued, however, in universities and research labs. The owner has the exclusive right to make decisions about what modifications should be included in the next release of the software. The only reason to deny or refuse a contribution is the ambition to maintain and develop the good quality of open-source software development, which also is the core argument for spending time developing such software. A programmer provides a project within the community with a piece of software. The contribution is peer-reviewed by the owners of a software-development project, and if it is good enough, the project owners will give credits by letting the contribution become a part of the project. The system of giving credits to the ones that the community thinks deserve it is therefore accepted and even favoured among the community members.