Open, But Not as Usual
Economist (03/18/06) Vol. 378, No. 8489, P. 73 *
The limitations of the open-source approach are becoming evident as
the methodology branches out of the software sector and into other
areas. The approach's most attractive attribute--its openness to
anyone--is also its Achilles heel, leaving projects vulnerable to
either unintentional or deliberate abuse that can only be deterred
through continuous self-policing. Indeed, only a few hundred of the
approximately 130,000 open-source projects on SourceForge.net are
active because the others are unable to accommodate open source's
shortcomings. The success of open-source projects often hinge on the
degree of similarity between the projects' management practices and
those of the companies they are trying to surpass, and most projects'
core component is a close-knit group rather than a wide-ranging
community. Many open-source initiatives have set up a formal and
hierarchical system of governance to guarantee quality. However, while
open source provides tools for very productive online collaboration,
ways to "identify and deploy not just manpower, but expertise" are
still lacking, according to New York University Law School's Beth
Noveck. The model permits elitism in the acceptance of contributions,
despite the egalitarian system of contribution. There is also
speculation that open source's ability to sustain its innovation as
well as the enthusiasm of contributors is limited.