Opensource.com Community Finds New Life With the Open Source Initiative

Open Source enthusiasts have grown to rely on unbiased, community-led content. Writers and editors of the project formerly known as Opensource.com are being invited to join OpenSource.net, a domain hosted by the Open Source Initiative.

Bilbao, Spain – September 18, 2023 – Today, the Open Source Initiative (OSI) has become the new home for the former Opensource.com community. Writers and editors formerly contributing to Opensource.com are being invited to continue their work under the OSI umbrella, posting content at a domain owned by the OSI: OpenSource.net.

The Opensource.com project had become a community favorite for news, information, opinion and how-tos surrounding the key issues in Open Source software, publishing over 10,000 articles. Over the course of 12 years, Open Source contributors advocated for the creation, adoption and sharing of all things Open Source. As a 501(c)(3) organization and the steward of the Open Source Definition, OSI will oversee OpenSource.net as a not-for-profit, technology-neutral resource for the Open Source community to share knowledge, perspectives and advocacy in support of a healthy Open Source ecosystem. 

OpenSource.net is launching in response to the halt of Opensource.com operations by supervising entity Red Hat, which supports the move. This includes facilitating the republishing of selected, previously published material from Opensource.com for the archives of OpenSource.net with the project’s technical editor Seth Kenlon continuing to play an advisory and supporting role.

Seth KenlonValue of OpenSource.net to the Community

OpenSource.net is a community project. A group has been established to host community discussions about the development of OpenSource.net. Interested parties are encouraged to participate. Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com, is kindly assisting the project with website design support.

The former authors at Opensource.com are in the process of repurposing their content and republishing selected articles on OpenSource.net. Content published on OpenSource.net will remain in the control of the author under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International License. 

Stefano Maffulli

Underwriting Opportunities

Operational support for OpenSource.net will come from the OSI, which is working to establish underwriting opportunities to help support this work. Those interested in supporting this initiative can contact the OSI.

“Continuing the work of the Opensource.com writers is in perfect alignment with our mission,” said Stefano Maffulli, executive director of the Open Source Initiative. “The content shared there supports healthy dialog and informed education on Open Source software issues and topics. We will strive to assure that the editorial standards and code of conduct at OpenSource.net will reflect those of Opensource.com, making the new offering a place where all community authors and editors are able to offer new ideas and foster engagement that helps create a positive future for Open Source software.”

Jen Wike Huger

“Open Source is about people as much as, if not more than, it is about software. For 12 years, Opensource.com published over 10,000 articles by more than 2,000 different authors. We are all excited to help the Open Source Initiative promote and safeguard the essential freedoms of Open Source software and hardware, and just as importantly, the vitality of the Open Source community,” said Seth Kenlon, former technical editor at Opensource.com.

“As the editorial manager for many years, our team put our heart and soul into growing Opensource.com into a truth-telling and real-life-story sharing platform for the Open Source community,” said Jen Wike Huger, former editorial manager. “It’s only right that another caretaker in the industry steps up and fills the gap. The lives and stories of developers from all over the world continue, and so we should continue to share.” 

About the Open Source Initiative

Founded in 1998, the Open Source Initiative (OSI) is a non-profit corporation with global scope formed to educate about and advocate for the benefits of Open Source and to build bridges among different constituencies in the Open Source community. It is the steward of the Open Source Definition, setting the foundation for the global Open Source ecosystem. Join and support the OSI mission today at https://opensource.org/join.