The rise of Drupal and the fall of closed source

The story of Drupal's beginning sounds like a story ripped from the pages of a cyberpunk novel. It was in a small apartment during college that Dries Buytaert created what would become one of the most widely-used open source content management frameworks. As a forum for his friends, early-Drupal was used as a communication tool for monitoring the group's fragile Internet connection, which was expensive and being spliced between them.

The evolution of Drupal since its introduction to the open source community in 2001 is a significant touchstone for the development of how the open source community and commercial private enterprises interact in the digital arena.

In the mid-90s, careful observers were noticing a new kind of economy emerging as a result of open source. This economy was based on creators freely sharing and further refining high-quality content with users who would provide helpful feedback, and often, make contributions of their own. More than a thriving ecosystem generating user-sensitive content and ideas, however, open source communities stood, and currently stand, for an ideology of communal work and collaboration. Open source communities are driven by a commitment to the success of the collective and to user contribution.

...With new themes and plug-ins added daily, Drupal continues to be one of the most versatile platforms available. For tasks Drupal cannot accomplish, the community continues to innovate and integrate with other platforms, enhancing the functionality for all users.