The vibrant global community behind Opensource.com is hard at work on something entirely new. Visitors to the long-standing publication may have recently noticed a quiet period on the site, but this temporary lull is the prelude to an exciting transition. A fresh project is actively in the works, and while specific operational details remain tightly under wraps for the moment, there is already a robust conversation happening about the future of the platform and the broader movement it represents. What better way to launch a new chapter of digital collaboration than by engaging with the entire internet?
The internet, and top-level domains
To understand where the community is heading, it is helpful to look back at the fundamental architecture of the digital world. The internet is, at its core, a network—a term that is itself a portmanteau of "interconnected" and "network." By definition, a network is a group of connections, and the global internet originally began as a connection of two primary networks: the military network and the academic network.
As the internet began to expand beyond those initial specialized groups and gain mainstream popularity, it quickly became apparent that different designations were necessary to help users navigate and categorize online spaces. Society needed clear ways to differentiate a commercial entity from a charitable organization, an institution of higher education from a governmental department, and a personal page from a community hub.
These essential designations are known as top-level domains, or TLDs. While a vast array of TLD extensions are available to web architects and organizations today, for a long time there were only a handful of foundational options. These original TLDs remain remarkably popular and culturally embedded in the web’s infrastructure. Most internet users intuitively understand that visiting a website ending in a .com address typically leads to a commercial site, whereas navigating to a .org address generally connects them to a non-profit organization, public trust, or community-focused initiative. These suffixes provide immediate context regarding the underlying purpose and governance of the digital spaces people inhabit every day.
Open source is a network
Open source, much like the broader internet itself, can manifest in many different forms. It can be commercial, driving enterprise software and global economic infrastructure. It can be non-profit, supporting public goods and digital sovereignty. It can be academic, serving as the foundation for cutting-edge scientific research and student collaboration. It can also be cultural, shaping how artists, writers, and creators share their work with the world.
No matter what form open source takes, however, it remains fundamentally a network. Sometimes that network is literal—a sprawling web of servers, repositories, and distributed computers powering modern technology stacks. But most importantly, open source is a network of people. Whether individuals are gathering in person at a massive international conference, chatting over drinks at a local pub, or collaborating asynchronously in an online chat room, the open-source movement is, at its heart, a community of human beings working toward shared goals.
For the past twelve years, the website Opensource.com has been generously supported by a commercial entity, providing a dedicated digital home for stories, insights, and advocacy surrounding open-source principles. Yet the people who truly constitute the lifeblood of the Opensource.com community—the writers, editors, advocates, contributors, and readers—are not commercial entities. They are individual human beings, bound together by a shared passion for openness, collaboration, and the belief that software and knowledge should be shared freely.
In one month, Opensource.com is going to resolve that bug and usher in this next evolution. Stay tuned for further announcements as the community prepares to reveal what comes next.
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