Whether you're just hearing the term "open source" for the first time or you've already dipped your toe into the pool of this technological and philosophical movement, there's a lot to learn! When you consider that the open source way of doing things has grown from its beginnings in software development to take root in digital art distribution, ecology, politics, general manufacturing processes, and more, it's easy to understand how anybody could get confused and have lots of questions about this topic.


Well, we've all got to start somewhere, and some questions turn out to be pretty universal. While more experienced members of the community may focus on highly specific and nuanced aspects of open source everything, many people new to the subject tend to wonder about the same basic set of issues. Here's the who, what, where, when, and why of common questions about open source.

What Does Open Source Mean?

If this is your first time even hearing terms like "free software," "open source technologies," and "FOSS," you may be scratching your head wondering what all of this is about. Sure, you can probably guess at some of it just by words like "free" and "open," but the surprising thing is, there's a good chance you'd be wrong! Free and open source software -- and, yes, that's in the singular -- is, at the very least, about a collaborative way to develop software, a legal license that allows others to use, modify, share, and even re-sell that software however they see fit, and a philosophical position about the benefits of removing restrictions from who has access to knowledge.

But, that's just the beginning, and the complete story is fascinating and complex.

What are These Licenses all About?

If you're not a lawyer, the intricacies of the law -- particularly copyright, ownership, and fair usage rights -- can be tedious to say the least. But, if you really want to understand what open source is about in-depth, you've got to understand at least a little bit about the licenses used to distribute this stuff to the world. Luckily for you, the licensing basics are not only easy to understand but also pretty fascinating.

Why Do People Contribute to Open Source?

If you were asked to spend countless nights and weekends working at a difficult job for no pay, there's a good chance you'd simply refuse. After all, if you're not getting compensated for your time, aren't there other things you'd rather be doing?

For people who contribute to open source projects -- and don't get financially compensated -- there are still a lot of benefits to getting involved and many ways to get "paid." From the knowledge and experience they gain to the possibility for career advancement, the general good feeling they get from giving charitably, and more, there are so many reasons that tens of thousands of people around the world contribute to open source projects on a daily basis.

How Do You Open Source Something?

If you make anything digital and you like what you've learned about the open source way of doing things, there's a good chance that you'll want to get involved by open sourcing your own creations. But, how exactly do you do that? And, is the process the same for a video game as it is for a song or photo?

The good news is that it's generally quite easy to open source and release your work to the world, but you do need to know a thing or two about the process and you also need to think about the nature of your creation and how you want to share it.

Where Can I Use Open Source Software?

One of the most common questions about open source software has to do with where you can use it. And, one of the most frequent misconceptions is that you can only run it on Linux-based computers. Simply put, you can run open source software on Microsoft Windows, OS X, and just about anywhere else that you can think of. Sure, you need to know what you're doing, but in many cases, getting, installing, and running open source software is no different than the process you'd go through with proprietary software.

Is the World Wide Web Open Source?

Web-based applications and services like Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest are all free and open to the world. They run on software like the Apache HTTP Server and use programming languages like PHP, so these websites are all open source, right? In fact, isn't the whole web open source? In a word ... no. It's true that a lot of websites are built on top of open source technologies, but that doesn't necessarily make the websites themselves -- or the web as a whole -- open source. The question, while common, is particularly complex and deserves a complete answer.

How Do I Learn More About Open Source Software?

Finally, having set off down the open source path, there's a good chance you're going to want to learn more.  The problem is, what exactly do you want to learn more about? The history? The people? The ideological underpinnings? The source code itself? Or, maybe all of it! With so much to learn, you need a guide, something to break it all down and show you where to go to expand your knowledge ... something like this complete primer on how to learn anything and everything about open source software and its related spin-offs.