Open Source Software: A New Mertonian Ethos?

In Anton Vedder (ed.), Ethics and the Internet. Intersentia (2001)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

Hacker communities of the 1970s and 1980s developed a quite characteristic work ethos. Its norms are explored and shown to be quite similar to those which Robert Merton suggested govern academic life: communism, universalism, disinterestedness, and organized scepticism. In the 1990s the Internet multiplied the scale of these communities, allowing them to create successful software programs like Linux and Apache. After renaming themselves the `open source software' movement, with an emphasis on software quality, they succeeded in gaining corporate interest. As one of the main results, their `open' practices have entered industrial software production. The resulting clash of cultures, between the more academic CUDOS norms and their corporate counterparts, is discussed and assessed. In all, the article shows that software practices are a fascinating seedbed for the genesis of work ethics of various kinds, depending on their societal context.

Other Versions

No versions found

Links

PhilArchive

External links

  • This entry has no external links. Add one.
Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

Ethical issues in open source software.F. S. Grodzinsky, K. Miller & M. J. Wolf - 2003 - Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society 1 (4):193-205.
The institutionalization of Open Source.Robert A. Gehring - 2006 - Poiesis and Praxis 4 (1):54-73.
The future of ppen source software: Let the market decide.R. A. Spinello - 2003 - Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society 1 (4):217-233.

Analytics

Added to PP
2013-10-11

Downloads
1,228 (#15,172)

6 months
134 (#37,079)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Author's Profile

Paul B. De Laat
University of Groningen

References found in this work

No references found.

Add more references