Goal Modeling

There are, in principle, an unlimited number of people interested in contributing, and no particular market window to hit. The project has its own life and existence. Each person improves the system where it is weak, at whatever rate that time and energy indicate. The reward structure is also different, being based on intrinsic, as opposed to external rewards (see Chapter 2). People develop open-source code for pleasure, as service to a community they care about, and for peer recognition. The motivational model is discussed at length in "Homesteading the noosphere" (?? URL). A goal for an industrial developer would be to become the next Bill Gates. The corresponding goal for an open-source developer would be to become the next Linus Torvalds. Finally, the open-source team structure of open-source development is different. Anyone may contribute code, but there is a designated gate-keeper protecting the center, the code base. That gatekeeper needn't be the best programmer, but needs to be a good programmer with good people skills and a very good eye for quality ...»