Balancing Diversity and Creativity in the World of FOSS

The Linux community is filled with friction and diversity. One of the advantages of open source software is the diversity that leads to innovative approaches to improve the computing environment.

But can the diversity go too far? Is it a defining characteristic that kills programming creativity?

The news cycle surrounding open source technology is fed by ongoing arguments about PulseAudio versus ALSA Sound in one Linux distro or another. Hotly debated discussions ensue about the merits of Systemd replacing init. Some disputes lead to key developers forking a project. Others force particular project developers or contributors to quit.

"I don't think you can have too much diversity of opinion. It only makes the product better. Having more people explaining what they need and what something should do always leads to good conversation. In a monoculture of people always in agreement, yes things can move quickly, but what if they are moving in the wrong direction?" Todd Ross Nienkerk, Managing partner at Web design and development firm Four Kitchens, told LinuxInsider.

Some open source contributors caught in the fray of diversity may not welcome the idea of never having too much diversity of opinion. Take, for example, an experience within the Nools community.

C2FO open sourced Nools, which is a JavaScript rules engine that runs on Node.js. Node.js is the open source JavaScript engine.

The Node.js community recently lost its longtime project leader Isaac Schuleter, who worked for Joyent, the company that sponsors and maintains Node.js's development. He is creating his own Node.js-related product under a company he started called NPM Inc. C2FO has no connection to Joyent.

"We have seen that a lot in the JavaScript community with dissension over the way syntax is done. You see a lot of this in the Github community where there are flame wars over which way is better to do something," Doug Martin, Principal Engineer at C2FO, told LinuxInsider.

Dissension causes a lot of stress in the community. In the end people look at the coding skills as an art. That can deter people from trying to contribute to your product, he explained.

"There can be fear that a contribution can be rejected over something as silly as a syntax. There can be too much emphases over a discussion on something that was trivial to begin with," he said.

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Balancing Diversity and Creativity in the World of FOSS