Working in Public: The Making and Maintenance of Open Source Software Highlight

The tribalistic nature of open source is frequently overlooked and misunderstood. As we’ve seen from the evolution of “hackers” to the more neutral “programmers” or “engineers,” to the polished-sounding “developers” today, there is no “open source community,” really, anymore than there is an “urban community.” Certainly, one city dweller can sympathize with another in many ways, especially when comparing themselves to their suburban or rural counterparts. But knowing the streets of San Francisco says nothing about how well you’ll fare in Hong Kong. “Urban” is an adjective, not an end point.