The global open-source community is currently hard at work behind the scenes on an exciting new initiative. Visitors to Opensource.com may have recently noticed a noticeable quietness across the platform’s digital halls. That temporary lull is due to a major new project currently in the works. While specific project details and fine-grained launch schedules are not yet ready for public announcement, there is already plenty of broader philosophy, history, and community vision to discuss. And what better way to begin unpacking a new chapter for an open platform than by looking at the very fabric of the internet itself?
The Internet, and Top-Level Domains
To understand where a community platform like Opensource.com is heading, it helps to revisit the foundational architecture of the digital world. Most internet users know that the internet is fundamentally a network. By definition, a network is a group of interconnected connections. In fact, the very word "internet" is a linguistic portmanteau born by combining "interconnected" and "network."
Historically speaking, the internet began its life as a network of interconnected networks. In its earliest iterations, it consisted primarily of two distinct domains: a military network designed for defense communications and an academic network meant for research institutions. As the digital age progressed and the internet grew in popularity far beyond those two specialized groups, it quickly became apparent that different designations were urgently needed. Society required a way to structurally differentiate a commercial business entity from a charitable organization, a university from a governmental department, or a public institution from a private enterprise.
These structural designations are officially known as top-level domains, or TLDs. Today, internet users can choose from a vast and diverse marketplace of TLD extensions. However, for a long period during the web’s formative years, there were only a handful of available options. Those original TLDs remain remarkably popular, deeply ingrained in the daily habits of billions of global web surfers. Most internet users intuitively understand that when they navigate to a web address ending in .com, they are visiting a commercial site, whereas a visit to a .org address typically points toward a non-profit website, and a .edu address designates an educational institution.
These domain endings do more than just route traffic; they tell a story about the identity, purpose, and backing of the organization operating behind the screen.
Open Source Is a Network
Just as the internet is a network of networks, the open-source movement can be understood in many different ways. Open source can take on a commercial shape, driving enterprise software, cloud infrastructure, and massive corporate technology stacks. Alternatively, it can function as a non-profit endeavor, supporting public-interest software, digital privacy, and open data. Open source can also be deeply academic, serving as the bedrock for scientific research, university laboratories, and scholarly collaboration. Beyond all of that, it is undeniably cultural, shaping how creators, writers, artists, and developers think about intellectual property, sharing, and collective progress.
No matter what specific form open source takes in any given context, it is always, at its core, a network. Sometimes—though certainly not always—that network is composed of physical computers, servers, routers, and repositories of source code. But most importantly, it is a network of people.
Whether people are gathering physically at an international conference, meeting informally at a local pub, or collaborating asynchronously in an online chat room, the true heart of open source is a vibrant community of human beings. Technology does not build, maintain, or advocate for itself; people do.
For the past twelve years, the website Opensource.com has been supported by a commercial entity, providing a steady platform for voices from across the globe to share their experiences with open-source software, culture, and philosophy. Yet, there has always been a fundamental distinction at play. The people—that is, the writers, editors, advocates, contributors, and readers who make up the beating heart of the Opensource.com community—are not commercial entities. They are human beings, driven by shared values of openness, collaboration, and community-driven innovation.
That brings the community to the present moment. In just one month, Opensource.com is going to resolve that long-standing structural mismatch and enter a brand-new phase. Stay tuned as more details unfold.
