Bill Wolff's Library tagged o'reilly →  View Popular

You may think that I want to bring in ecology because O'Reilly's books all have animals on the cover, but it really does go deeper than that!

First off, ecology teaches us that it takes a web of cooperating species to
create a truly rich environment. Each of us depends on thousands, if not
millions, of other organisms, each pursuing its own selfish goals, yet somehow
weaving a cooperative web that, for the most part, benefits all. I believe that
open source has many parallels to a functioning ecology. Each developer builds
for his own use, and that of his friends, but also makes it easy for collateral
benefits to accrue to others he or she doesn't know. And the open source
developer contributes even his failures back into the environment, to enrich the
soil from which other innovations can grow.

Second, ecology teaches us that a rich environment takes time to evolve. One
species prepares the ground for another. For example, lichens and mosses break
down rock, creating soil that can support more complex plants. Ecological
succession takes time. But as the substrate laid down by simple organisms grows
richer, the possibilities for complexity increase.