With the growth of free and open source software (FOSS) and the adoption of FOSS solutions in business and everyday life, it is important that projects serve their growingly diverse user base. The sustainability of FOSS projects relies on a constant influx of new contributors. Several large demographic surveys found that FOSS communities are very homogenous, dominated by young men, similar to t...

Today, Free and open source software (FOSS) is widely used by organizations and individuals and viewed as a new approach to developing software. New software can be developed by integrating FOSS components or incorporating source code fragments, thus adding value in terms of functionality and quality. The use of FOSS components in developing new software requires developers to comply with the t...

Executive Summary We seek to establish a national program for research into the science of open source systems. Open source systems are beginning to appear in many diverse disciplines, though the area with perhaps the highest level of activity, visibility, and impact is free/open source software (FOSS) systems. FOSS systems are being researched and developed by fast growing communities of acade...

Executive Summary We seek to establish a national program for research into the science of open source systems. Open source systems are beginning to appear in many diverse disciplines, though the area with perhaps the highest level of activity, visibility, and impact is free/open source software (FOSS) systems. FOSS systems are being researched and developed by fast growing communities of acade...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of free and open source (FOSS) geographic information system (GIS) software within the broader contexts of the open source software movement and developments in GIS, and pose the question of whether libraries and academic departments should consider adopting FOSS GIS. Design/methodology/approach – The process of creating a basic them...

Attracting a large number of new contributors has been seen as a way to ensure the survival, long-term success, and sustainability of Free/Open Source Software (FOSS) communities. FOSS communities have thus for long seized the criticality of generating effective initiatives to facilitate the socialization of community newcomers. However, FOSS socialization research has suffered from a lack of w...

Due to the continuous expansion of the FOSS ecosystem and the introduction of high-quality FOSS, FOSS is increasingly used in consumer electronics (CE) such as smartphones, televisions, and cameras. As a result, manufacturers of CE products have developed a close relationship with the FOSS ecosystem. For CE product manufacturers, efficient adaptation to the FOSS ecosystem has become an essentia...

Over recent years the issue of free and open source software (FOSS) for development in less developed countries (LDCs) has received increasing attention. In the beginning the benefits of FOSS for lower developed countries was only stressed by small groups of idealists like Richard Stallman. Now, however, it is moving into the hands of large international organizations like the World Bank, Europ...

Numerous licenses confuse new participants in the free/open source software (FOSS) world. In this paper, we provide a general introduction to eleven commonly-used FOSS licenses. By applying seven specific considerations that are proposed in our study, developers can identify which license suits their needs best. We further use the above considerations to rank these FOSS licenses, which are Open...

One of the most powerful movements in the information technology community today is the widespread adoption of free and open-source software (FOSS). What was once an idealistic fringe movement conceived and formalized by MacArthur award laureate Richard Stallman has now become one of the most powerful influences in the world of information technology. As FOSS systems grow in popularity, questio...