https://www.channelfutures.com/wp-content/themes/channelfutures_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • SDN/SD-WAN
    • Cloud
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Telephony/UC/Collaboration
    • Cable
    • Mobility & Wireless
    • Fiber/Ethernet
    • Data Centers
    • Backup & Disaster Recovery
    • IoT
    • Desktop
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Analytics
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Channel Research
    • Business Models
    • Distribution
    • Technology Solutions Brokerages
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Best Practices
    • Vertical Markets
    • Regulation & Compliance
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • MSP 501 Rankings
    • NextGen 101 Rankings
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • From the Industry
    • Reports/Digital Issues
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • Channel Futures TV
  • EMEA
  • Channel Chatter
    • Back
    • People on the Move
    • New/Changing Channel Programs
    • New Products & Services
    • Industry Honors
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Channel Futures 20: Top Tech Providers
    • Advisory Boards
    • Industry Organizations
    • Our Sponsors
    • Advertise
    • 2023 Editorial Calendar
  • Awards
    • Back
    • 2022 MSP 501
    • Channel Influencers
    • Circle of Excellence
    • DE&I 101
    • Technology Advisor 101 (TA 101)
    • Channel Leaders Lists
  • Events
    • Back
    • 2023 Call for Speakers
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • MSP Summit
    • Channel Partners Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
    • Industry Events
  • About Us
  • DE&I
Channel Futures
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • SDN/SD-WAN
    • Cloud
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Telephony/UC/Collaboration
    • Cable
    • Mobility & Wireless
    • Fiber/Ethernet
    • Data Centers
    • Backup & Disaster Recovery
    • IoT
    • Desktop
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Analytics
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Channel Research
    • Business Models
    • Distribution
    • Technology Solutions Brokerages
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Best Practices
    • Vertical Markets
    • Regulation & Compliance
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • MSP 501 Rankings
    • NextGen 101 Rankings
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • From the Industry
    • Reports/Digital Issues
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • Channel Futures TV
  • EMEA
  • Channel Chatter
    • Back
    • People on the Move
    • New/Changing Channel Programs
    • New Products & Services
    • Industry Honors
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Channel Futures 20: Top Tech Providers
    • Advisory Boards
    • Industry Organizations
    • Our Sponsors
    • Advertise
    • 2023 Editorial Calendar
  • Awards
    • Back
    • 2022 MSP 501
    • Channel Influencers
    • Circle of Excellence
    • DE&I 101
    • Technology Advisor 101 (TA 101)
    • Channel Leaders Lists
  • Events
    • Back
    • 2023 Call for Speakers
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • MSP Summit
    • Channel Partners Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
    • Industry Events
  • About Us
  • DE&I
    • Newsletter
  • REGISTER
  • MSPs
  • VARs / SIs
  • Agents
  • Cloud Service Providers
  • Channel Partners Events
 Channel Futures

Strategy


Open Source

Stop Calling Everything “Open Source”: What “Open Source” Really Means

  • Written by Christopher Tozzi
  • December 14, 2017
"Open source" is an exciting concept in the world of software and beyond. But it shouldn't be applied to contexts where it makes no sense.

What does open source mean? That’s an increasingly tough question to answer because the term is now being applied everywhere and to everything — which is not good.

To understand why open source is losing its meaning, you have to start by tracing the origins of the phrase.

Open source was a term originally used in the intelligence community. It had nothing to do with software.

Then, in 1998, a group of people who advocated the free sharing of software source code coined the term open source software. They did so primarily because they sought an alternative to free software, the term that was initially used to describe software whose source code was freely available.

For political reasons not worth discussing here, some people today continue to prefer the term free software. By and large, however, open source software has become the de facto way to describe software with freely redistributable source code.

The Complex Meaning of Open Source

Over the past two decades, the meaning of open source has become complicated.

This is true even when people talk about open source software. The terms of open source software licenses vary widely, and, by extension, so do the ways in which a software program that is described as open source can be shared.

As a result, when you hear the term open source software, there is some ambiguity regarding what is being discussed. You might be talking about software like Linux, which is governed by the GNU General Public License (GPL)’s rather strict redistribution terms. Or you could be discussing programs like X Windows, which is licensed under very liberal terms.

Open Source beyond Software

The variation within the meaning of open source software is only one reason why the meaning of open source has become hard to pin down in recent years.

The bigger issue is that open source is now being applied to myriad other realms, which have nothing to do with software.

We now talk about open source music, open source art, open source hardware and even open source food and sofas (yes, your sofa can now be open source).

In some cases, it makes sense to apply the open source label to products that are not software. If users can participate in the creation, modification and redistribution of a product, then it qualifies as open source.

In other cases, however, the term is misused.

The types of misuse fall into three main categories:

  1. Referring to a product that is free for anyone to use, but cannot be modified. For example, Archive.org has an “open source audio” page (that’s what the URL calls it, at least). The audio files there are free for anyone to download and use in almost any way they like, including incorporating them into a larger product. However, the audio files aren’t available in a way that makes it practical for users to modify them. They are an example of a product that is free of cost and freely redistributable, but not extendable or modifiable by third parties.
  2. Saying open source when you really mean customizable. Ikea’s so-called open source sofa falls into this category. People who want to buy the sofa can customize it before Ikea sends it to them. But the end product is not designed to be modified or redistributed by the user. A truly open source sofa would be one that end users could take apart, reassemble and extend when they got it home — and share it with their friends, too, if they want. The open source model does not really work for sofas.
  3. Using open source as a shorthand for crowd-sourced or collaborative. This project is an example. It was a crowd-sourced effort to collect information about debt associated with graduate school in a Google Sheet. Many people contributed, and the results are available for anyone to reuse. But users aren’t going to modify the information in the database — that would undercut its purpose. They may add to it, but adding more to something that already exists without modifying any of the existing parts is not an open source endeavor. You could write a plugin for a closed-source software program without touching the program itself just as easily as you could write a plugin for an open source platform.

When open source is used in one of these ways, its meaning degrades.

Conclusion

Open source is one of the most important ideas today in the world of IT and beyond.

If open source is going to remain so influential, however, it needs to be used only in contexts where it truly makes sense. If what you really to say is free of cost, customizable or collaborative, don’t say open source. Open source software and other open source entities usually have these qualities, but they have others, too.

Tags: Agents Cloud Service Providers MSPs VARs/SIs Open Source Strategy Technologies

Most Recent


  • td synnex ciso
    The Gately Report: TD Synnex CISO on Protecting the World's Largest Distributor
    Apria Healthcare takes years to report massive data breach.
  • how to sell more
    Learn How to Sell More Solutions to Clients
    A conversation with MSP Marketing Edge's Paul Green.
  • Partner Program
    Coalesce Partners Gain Revamped Partner Program with Expanded Training, Resources
    Coalesce's data transformation solution is built exclusively for Snowflake Data Cloud.
  • ransomware attacks
    Survey: Backups Are Prime Targets for Ransomware Attacks, Most Remain Exposed
    Veeam’s 2023 Ransomware Trends Report shows many pay ransom but don’t always recover.

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your Channel Futures account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • clouds
    Nutanix Elevate Program Now Open to Service Providers Globally
  • Paying ransomware
    Feds Seize Most of Ransom Paid in Colonial Pipeline Ransomware Attack
  • IPO
    6 Things to Know About the Upcoming SentinelOne IPO
  • Acquisition fish eating little fish
    Deloitte Joins Cloud Cybersecurity Craze with CloudQuest Purchase

Upcoming Events

View all

Channel Partners Europe

June 13, 2023 - June 14, 2023

Channel Futures Leadership Summit

October 30, 2023 - November 2, 2023

Channel Partners Conference & Expo

March 11, 2024 - March 14, 2024

Galleries

View all

The Gately Report: TD Synnex CISO on Protecting the World’s Largest Distributor

May 30, 2023

Survey: Backups Are Prime Targets for Ransomware Attacks, Most Remain Exposed

May 26, 2023

Faces of the Partner: 6 New Tech Advisors Entering the Channel

May 26, 2023

Industry Perspectives

View all

Dell Technologies World: Dell Apex Expanded Across On-Premises, Cloud and Edge

May 22, 2023

Identity Is Increasingly Valuable – and Targeted

May 18, 2023

Gaining a Competitive Advantage through AV Managed Services

May 10, 2023

Webinars

View all

From Problem to Profit: Mastering the Science of Selling Using Business Outcomes

May 9, 2023

Meet the 2023 Channel Futures Channel Influencers

April 13, 2023

DE&I Dialogue: How the Right DE&I Initiatives Can Propel Your Business

April 5, 2023

White Papers

View all

6 UCaaS Reseller Challenges and How Real World Businesses Solved Them

February 1, 2023

Frost Radar: North American UCaaS Market, 2022

February 1, 2023

The Complete Guide to White-Label UCaaS for Reseller Success

February 1, 2023

Channel Futures TV

View all

Coffee with Craig and James Episode No. 123: MartinWolf M&A Advisors, CP Expo Preview

UScellular Takes On Rivals with Partner Program Simplicity

April 21, 2023

OpenText Simplifying Deal Registration, Doubling Down on MDF

April 21, 2023

Everything-as-a-Service: CloudBlue Touts Critical Customer Transition

April 18, 2023

Twitter

ChannelFutures

Our latest #GatelyReport includes a Q&A with @TDSYNNEX CISO Dan Lasher, #cyberattack in Augusta, Georgia, Apria Hea… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

May 30, 2023
ChannelFutures

Who has been a diversity, equity & inclusion role model in your career? Take a moment to honor their initiatives in… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

May 29, 2023
ChannelFutures

Paul Green @msp_voice will help MSPs gain more #customers and #sales at @ChannelEurop June 13.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

May 26, 2023
ChannelFutures

.@coalesceIO unveils revamped partner program. #datatransformation dlvr.it/SphJm4 https://t.co/s7fYAVmFGD

May 26, 2023
ChannelFutures

.@Veeam #Ransomeware survey: backups are not adequately protected, 85% suffered at least 1 attack in past year… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

May 26, 2023
ChannelFutures

.@MSPSummit call for speakers is open now through July 3. The theme for this year’s summit is “The New Style of Lea… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

May 26, 2023
ChannelFutures

Channel Futures interviewed six individuals who started an agency in the last two years. dlvr.it/SpgV6l https://t.co/JXKhJcw31A

May 26, 2023
ChannelFutures

Channel Futures interviewed six individuals who started an agency in the last two years. dlvr.it/SpgTQg https://t.co/7eIp0XgwQ2

May 26, 2023

MSP 501

The industry's largest and most comprehensive partner awards program.

Newsletters and Updates

Sign up for The Channel Report, Channel Futures Update, MSP 501 Newsletter and more.

Live Channel Events

Get the latest information on the next industry-leading Channel Partners event.

Galleries

Educational slide shows and images from live events.

Media Kit And Advertising

Want to reach our audience? Access our media kit.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • Channel Partners Events
  • Telecoms.com
  • MSP 501
  • Black Hat
  • IoT World Today
  • Omdia

WORKING WITH US

  • Contact
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Newsletter

FOLLOW Channel Futures ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2023 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X