The vibrant global community behind Opensource.com is hard at work on an exciting new initiative. Visitors to the platform may have recently noticed a period of relative quiet across the site, but this calm is deceptive. Behind the scenes, preparations are underway for a brand-new project designed to usher in the next era for the platform and its loyal readership. While specific details and logistical announcements are still being finalized, there is already plenty of anticipation, discussion, and momentum building within the network. And what better way to approach a new beginning for an open-source publication than by looking at the very fabric of the internet itself?
The Internet, and Top-Level Domains
To understand where the platform is heading and why this upcoming shift matters so much to its contributors, it helps to revisit the foundational concepts of the web. Most internet users know that the internet is, at its core, a network. By definition, a network is a group of interconnected connections—a concept elegantly captured in the portmanteau "internet," which merges "interconnected" and "network."
Historically, the modern internet evolved out of two primary roots: a military network and an academic network. As long as the user base remained confined to these specialized sectors, managing connections was relatively straightforward. However, once the internet began to catch on and expand rapidly across the public sphere, it quickly became apparent that different designations were desperately needed. Officials and pioneers required a systematic way to differentiate between a commercial entity, a charitable organization, an institution of higher education, or a governmental department.
These critical designations came to be known as top-level domains, or TLDs. While today’s digital landscape features a sprawling, almost overwhelming variety of available extensions, for a long time there were only a handful. These original TLDs remain remarkably popular, deeply ingrained in the daily habits of web users worldwide. Most people intuitively understand that navigating to a .com address typically leads to a commercial site, while venturing to a .org address generally points toward a non-profit organization, a foundation, or a community-driven initiative.
Open Source Is a Network
This structural division of the web brings into sharp relief the unique nature of open source. Open source can embody many different things depending on the context, the participants, and the goals. It can be commercial, driving enterprise software and global economic growth. It can be non-profit, serving public goods and fostering collaborative innovation. It can be academic, pushing the boundaries of computer science and research. It can also be cultural, shaping how creators share art, literature, and media.
Yet, no matter what form open source takes, or which top-level domain it eventually adopts, it is fundamentally and always a network. Sometimes, that network is literal—a vast, intricate web of computers, servers, repositories, and distributed version control systems. But most importantly, and most powerfully, it is a network of people.
Whether contributors, enthusiasts, and users are gathering physically at an international conference, networking casually at a local pub, or collaborating asynchronously in an online chat room, open source is first and foremost a community of living, breathing human beings. It is driven by shared values, collaborative problem-solving, and a collective desire to build tools that anyone can inspect, modify, and improve.
For the past twelve years, the website Opensource.com has been supported and sustained by a commercial entity. That institutional backing has allowed the platform to publish thousands of stories, host vital conversations, and serve as a central hub for the global open-source movement. However, the people who actually make up the Opensource.com community—the writers, editors, commenters, advocates, and readers—are not commercial entities. They are individuals, driven by passion, curiosity, and a commitment to the open-source ethos.
In just one month, Opensource.com is going to resolve that long-standing dynamic and step into its next iteration. Stay tuned for what comes next.
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