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How I coined the term 'open source'

How I coined the term 'open source'

Christine Peterson finally publishes her account of that fateful day, 20
years ago.

01 Feb 2018 [193]Christine Peterson [194]Feed
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[196]20 comments
Hello my name is Open Source name tag
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IFRAME:
[197]/eloqua-embedded-email-capture-block.html?offer_id=70160000000QzXN
AA0

In a few days, on February 3, the 20th anniversary of the introduction
of the term "[198]open source software" is upon us. As open source
software grows in popularity and powers some of the most robust and
important innovations of our time, we reflect on its rise to
prominence.

I am the originator of the term "open source software" and came up with
it while executive director at Foresight Institute. Not a software
developer like the rest, I thank Linux programmer Todd Anderson for
supporting the term and proposing it to the group.

This is my account of how I came up with it, how it was proposed, and
the subsequent reactions. Of course, there are a number of accounts of
the coining of the term, for example by Eric Raymond and Richard
Stallman, yet this is mine, written on January 2, 2006.

It has never been published, until today.
__________________________________________________________________

The introduction of the term "open source software" was a deliberate
effort to make this field of endeavor more understandable to newcomers
and to business, which was viewed as necessary to its spread to a
broader community of users. The problem with the main earlier label,
"free software," was not its political connotations, but that—to
newcomers—its seeming focus on price is distracting. A term was needed
that focuses on the key issue of source code and that does not
immediately confuse those new to the concept. The first term that came
along at the right time and fulfilled these requirements was rapidly
adopted: open source.

This term had long been used in an "intelligence" (i.e., spying)
context, but to my knowledge, use of the term with respect to software
prior to 1998 has not been confirmed. The account below describes how
the term [199]open source software caught on and became the name of
both an industry and a movement.

Meetings on computer security

In late 1997, weekly meetings were being held at Foresight Institute to
discuss computer security. Foresight is a nonprofit think tank focused
on nanotechnology and artificial intelligence, and software security is
regarded as central to the reliability and security of both. We had
identified free software as a promising approach to improving software
security and reliability and were looking for ways to promote it.
Interest in free software was starting to grow outside the programming
community, and it was increasingly clear that an opportunity was coming
to change the world. However, just how to do this was unclear, and we
were groping for strategies.

At these meetings, we discussed the need for a new term due to the
confusion factor. The argument was as follows: those new to the term
"free software" assume it is referring to the price. Oldtimers must
then launch into an explanation, usually given as follows: "We mean
free as in freedom, not free as in beer." At this point, a discussion
on software has turned into one about the price of an alcoholic
beverage. The problem was not that explaining the meaning is
impossible—the problem was that the name for an important idea should
not be so confusing to newcomers. A clearer term was needed. No
political issues were raised regarding the free software term; the
issue was its lack of clarity to those new to the concept.

Releasing Netscape

On February 2, 1998, Eric Raymond arrived on a visit to work with
Netscape on the plan to release the browser code under a
free-software-style license. We held a meeting that night at
Foresight's office in Los Altos to strategize and refine our message.
In addition to Eric and me, active participants included Brian
Behlendorf, Michael Tiemann, Todd Anderson, Mark S. Miller, and Ka-Ping
Yee. But at that meeting, the field was still described as free
software or, by Brian, "source code available" software.

While in town, Eric used Foresight as a base of operations. At one
point during his visit, he was called to the phone to talk with a
couple of Netscape legal and/or marketing staff. When he was finished,
I asked to be put on the phone with them—one man and one woman, perhaps
Mitchell Baker—so I could bring up the need for a new term. They agreed
in principle immediately, but no specific term was agreed upon.

Between meetings that week, I was still focused on the need for a
better name and came up with the term "open source software." While not
ideal, it struck me as good enough. I ran it by at least four others:
Eric Drexler, Mark Miller, and Todd Anderson liked it, while a friend
in marketing and public relations felt the term "open" had been
overused and abused and believed we could do better. He was right in
theory; however, I didn't have a better idea, so I thought I would try
to go ahead and introduce it. In hindsight, I should have simply
proposed it to Eric Raymond, but I didn't know him well at the time, so
I took an indirect strategy instead.

Todd had agreed strongly about the need for a new term and offered to
assist in getting the term introduced. This was helpful because, as a
non-programmer, my influence within the free software community was
weak. My work in nanotechnology education at Foresight was a plus, but
not enough for me to be taken very seriously on free software
questions. As a Linux programmer, Todd would be listened to more
closely.

The key meeting

Later that week, on February 5, 1998, a group was assembled at VA
Research to brainstorm on strategy. Attending—in addition to Eric
Raymond, Todd, and me—were Larry Augustin, Sam Ockman, and attending by
phone, Jon "maddog" Hall.

The primary topic was promotion strategy, especially which companies to
approach. I said little, but was looking for an opportunity to
introduce the proposed term. I felt that it wouldn't work for me to
just blurt out, "All you technical people should start using my new
term." Most of those attending didn't know me, and for all I knew, they
might not even agree that a new term was greatly needed, or even
somewhat desirable.

Fortunately, Todd was on the ball. Instead of making an assertion that
the community should use this specific new term, he did something less
directive—a smart thing to do with this community of strong-willed
individuals. He simply used the term in a sentence on another
topic—just dropped it into the conversation to see what happened. I
went on alert, hoping for a response, but there was none at first. The
discussion continued on the original topic. It seemed only he and I had
noticed the usage.

Not so—memetic evolution was in action. A few minutes later, one of the
others used the term, evidently without noticing, still discussing a
topic other than terminology. Todd and I looked at each other out of
the corners of our eyes to check: yes, we had both noticed what
happened. I was excited—it might work! But I kept quiet: I still had
low status in this group. Probably some were wondering why Eric had
invited me at all.

Toward the end of the meeting, the [200]question of terminology was
brought up explicitly, probably by Todd or Eric. Maddog mentioned
"freely distributable" as an earlier term, and "cooperatively
developed" as a newer term. Eric listed "free software," "open source,"
and "sourceware" as the main options. Todd advocated the "open source"
model, and Eric endorsed this. I didn't say much, letting Todd and Eric
pull the (loose, informal) consensus together around the open source
name. It was clear that to most of those at the meeting, the name
change was not the most important thing discussed there; a relatively
minor issue. Only about 10% of my notes from this meeting are on the
terminology question.

But I was elated. These were some key leaders in the community, and
they liked the new name, or at least didn't object. This was a very
good sign. There was probably not much more I could do to help; Eric
Raymond was far better positioned to spread the new meme, and he did.
Bruce Perens signed on to the effort immediately, helping set up
[201]Opensource.org and playing a key role in spreading the new term.

For the name to succeed, it was necessary, or at least highly
desirable, that Tim O'Reilly agree and actively use it in his many
projects on behalf of the community. Also helpful would be use of the
term in the upcoming official release of the Netscape Navigator code.
By late February, both O'Reilly & Associates and Netscape had started
to use the term.

Getting the name out

After this, there was a period during which the term was promoted by
Eric Raymond to the media, by Tim O'Reilly to business, and by both to
the programming community. It seemed to spread very quickly.

On April 7, 1998, Tim O'Reilly held a meeting of key leaders in the
field. Announced in advance as the first "[202]Freeware Summit," by
April 14 it was referred to as the first "[203]Open Source Summit."

These months were extremely exciting for open source. Every week, it
seemed, a new company announced plans to participate. Reading Slashdot
became a necessity, even for those like me who were only peripherally
involved. I strongly believe that the new term was helpful in enabling
this rapid spread into business, which then enabled wider use by the
public.

A quick Google search indicates that "open source" appears more often
than "free software," but there still is substantial use of the free
software term, which remains useful and should be included when
communicating with audiences who prefer it.

A happy twinge

When an [204]early account of the terminology change written by Eric
Raymond was posted on the Open Source Initiative website, I was listed
as being at the VA brainstorming meeting, but not as the originator of
the term. This was my own fault; I had neglected to tell Eric the
details. My impulse was to let it pass and stay in the background, but
Todd felt otherwise. He suggested to me that one day I would be glad to
be known as the person who coined the name "open source software." He
explained the situation to Eric, who promptly updated his site.

Coming up with a phrase is a small contribution, but I admit to being
grateful to those who remember to credit me with it. Every time I hear
it, which is very often now, it gives me a little happy twinge.

The big credit for persuading the community goes to Eric Raymond and
Tim O'Reilly, who made it happen. Thanks to them for crediting me, and
to Todd Anderson for his role throughout. The above is not a complete
account of open source history; apologies to the many key players whose
names do not appear. Those seeking a more complete account should refer
to the links in this article and elsewhere on the net.

Topics

[205]2018 Open Source Yearbook
[206]Yearbook

About the author

[207]photo of Christine Peterson
Christine Peterson - Christine Peterson writes, lectures, and briefs
the media on coming powerful technologies, especially nanotechnology,
artificial intelligence, and longevity. She is Cofounder and Past
President of Foresight Institute, the leading nanotech public interest
group. Foresight educates the public, technical community, and
policymakers on coming powerful technologies and how to guide their
long-term impact. She serves on the Advisory Board of
the [208]Machine...
[209]More about me
* [210]Learn how you can contribute

Recommended reading

[211]2018 yearbook cover text
Announcing the 2018 Open Source Yearbook: Download now
[212]photo of microphone
5 public speaking resolutions for 2019
[213]Fireworks
5 open source resolutions for 2019
[214]hand holding lit sparkler
5 resolutions for open source project maintainers
[215]Airplane flying with a globe background
40 top Linux and open source conferences in 2019
[216]A hand-drawn brain.
How to get started in AI

20 Comments

Jim Hall
[217]Jim Hall on 01 Feb 2018 [218]Permalink

This is a great article, thanks for sharing!

For years, I assumed Eric coined "open source," but it was about a year
ago when I was teaching a class on the usability of open source
software that I happened upon an article that credited you in that
meeting for "open source."

I think so many people (myself included) assumed Eric came up with
"open source" because he wrote so much about "open source" in those
early days. It's great to get this additional backstory. Wonderful
read. Thanks!
Vote up!
2
Ralph Little
Ralph Little on 01 Feb 2018 [219]Permalink

I apologize if I mischaracterize the views of Richard Stallman on this
point, and I accept that you see that the term Free Software is as
still useful in some circumstances, I think Richard would see the
success of Open Source as a failure in that it distracts from the
larger political message of freedom. Being able to see the source is
only part of the message. The term free is indeed problematic because
it has so many different connotations to so many people. I regret that
open as an alternative term also fails because it loses the libre
connotation as it concentrates on only one of the freedoms: to see the
source. Libre might have been a better choice but I suspect that the
full ramifications of "freedom" as Richard would view it is still
unacceptable to many people in the industry. I regret that state of
affairs.
Vote up!
0
S. Oakland
S. Oakland on 01 Feb 2018 [220]Permalink

Freedom software. As in freedom fries
Vote up!
0
gpshead
gpshead on 03 Feb 2018 [221]Permalink

The entire point and a reason for success of the open source name was
that there was not a larger political message to weigh it down.

Free and Libre both carry political connotations - something many
projects choose to avoid.
The GPL is not the only game in town. Never regret that.

Signed,
Someone who's Free Software Foundation T-shirt was scoffed at and
dismissed by many in the early 1990s for exactly the reasons Christine
describes.
Vote up!
0
n8chz
[222]Lori on 18 Feb 2018 [223]Permalink

"Libre might have been a better choice but I suspect that the full
ramifications of "freedom" as Richard would view it is still
unacceptable to many people in the industry. I regret that state of
affairs."

I don't. If anything I recently find myself left-of-Stallman on the
copyleft-copyright spectrum. I've taken to using the term
"nonproprietary" and even "noncommercial" and "antiproprietary" to
describe my own software-related activities, and even more so to
describe activities I wish more people were involved in.

"Free as in beer," while a distraction from the more important "free as
in speech" is not necessarily irrelevant. The fact that much of free
software is also "free as in beer" may be the single greatest
contributor to open source adoption. I think of myself as a volunteer.
Voluntary, like free, has two connotations, one political ("voluntary
means you're not required to") and one economic ("voluntary means you
don't get paid"). Both of these (as well as both senses of "free" as in
software) are prerequisites for the sense of nonproprietary technology
that I seek to promote. If programmers must be paid, then at some
point, software (including open source software) must be monetized, and
I've largely come to the conclusion that there's no such thing as a
non-cynical monetization model. At best you end up in a world in which
all the open source software titles are "community editions" of
decidedly proprietary and decidedly closed-source titles.

The reason I may have rolled my eyes a few times around the turn of the
century hearing "open source" in IBM commercials (while watching golf,
of course) is that there must be something wrong with the open source
concept if it's that corporate-friendly. The concept of source code is
not software-specific, and I'm actually delighted that it comes from a
non-programmer. Use of the term "open source" (if we're doing it right)
forces us to consider not just source code, but source documents in a
more general sense. For hardware that may mean blueprints. For products
and services in general it should (in my opinion) mean supply chain
data being nonproprietary, business models (and even strategies) that
don't rest on trade secrets, and so much more. As delighted as I am to
learn that open source software was coined by a programmer, I'm even
more delighted to learn that "open sources" is an expression from the
intelligence community. It reminds me of my undergraduate years in the
halcyon eighties, when often the more activist members of the faculty
would petition the administration for guarantees of their right to
conduct "nonclassified and nonproprietary" research. I always looked
forward to signing those petitions. Nothing made me more proud than
seeing the name of a math professor whose class I had taken on one list
of professors making such demands. Not surprisingly, the movement was
most popular with the arts and humanities crowd. It was heartening to
see someone from what today is called "STEM" going to bat for the
cause.

Another big inspiration for my particular brand of open source
philosophy was the late Ursula LeGuin. The character Shevek in The
Dispossessed (published way back in 1974) is my open-source hero, for
reasons I won't get into because those who approve of courtesy to
living readers don't post spoilers. In fact, that's the only legitimate
use of secrecy that I can think of. XD
Vote up!
1
oldgaro
oldgaro on 01 Feb 2018 [224]Permalink

Free Software > Open Source
Vote up!
0
Sara Winge
Sara Winge on 01 Feb 2018 [225]Permalink

I am so glad to read this account, Christine, even though I knew you
came up with "open source." And I was amazed to see "memetic
evolution...in action," when the participants at the Open Source Summit
debated the term for about 8 minutes and then said, "Yes, let's go with
it." So, in a moment I'll never forget, I went down to the hotel desk,
and asked them to change the "Free Software Summit" sign to "Open
Source Summit" before our end-of-day press conference. And we were
off...
Vote up!
2
Jen Wike Huger
[226]Jen Wike Huger on 05 Feb 2018 [227]Permalink

Very neat! Thanks for sharing.
Vote up!
0
Lawrence D'Anna
Lawrence D'Anna on 02 Feb 2018 [228]Permalink

It's a great name! I think the benefits of having a great name have
been massive. I don't think we'd be in nearly such a good place today
as we are without it.

I've never heard the story of where it came from before. Thanks for
coming up with it.
Vote up!
0
Anwar Dafa-Alla
Anwar Dafa-Alla on 03 Feb 2018 [229]Permalink

Good read indeed. Thank you for coining this powerful term.
We had the pleasure to listen to Jon “Maddog” Hall promoting Free and
Open Source Software (FOSS) in Sudan during TEDxKhartoum 2013.
Vote up!
1
Eric S. Raymond
Eric S. Raymond on 03 Feb 2018 [230]Permalink

Chris's account matches my recollections in every respect and reminds
me of some details I had forgotten. I fully endorse it.

I can add that it was indeed I who explicitly brought up terminology as
an issue. I had a clearer initial sense than others there (though they
did catch up with me later) that we were in effect planning a marketing
and branding campaign. That sense was driving my thinking, and
continued to do so for months afterwards. But it was something I didn't
talk about much because I knew "marketing" was a bad word to these
died-in-the-wool geeks, something they'd need to get used to thinking
about gradually. I'd had to struggle with the concept myself before
making peace with it.

The only other important thing this account leaves out is something
Chris didn't know because she couldn't read my mind. The truth is that
I spotted "open source" as the winner we were looking for almost
immediately, the first or maybe second time it came up, well before I
started advocating for it later in the discussion.

You see, I too was feeling like it was important not to step on the
discussion, better to allow a consensus to develop without me forcing
it. But I spotted the useful connection to "open source" as used in
intelligence work immediately and was more excited than I let on. It
seemed perfect for our propaganda needs - ideologically neutral, easily
parsed, just enough connection to a respectable and established term of
art. I was very impressed with Chris for inventing it.

I actually felt a considerable sense of relief when the other
participants gravitated to the term. I would have fought for it over
the alternatives on offer, but didn't have to. Bright crowd at that
meeting; I was ahead of the curve only because I had put concentrated
thought into the problems before I walked in. We all figured out what
needed to be done, and we did it.

Ever since I was first reminded that "open source" was Chris's coinage
I've been careful to credit it to her. She deserves her happy twinge.
Maybe I would have come up with the same term or something as good
myself, maybe not - it's good that we didn't have to roll those dice.
Vote up!
3
Nathanael
Nathanael on 04 Feb 2018 [231]Permalink

Umm, wait. What about Caldera, Inc?

“Caldera Announces Open Source Code Model for DOS.”

That’s from 1996. Christine may have come up with the term
independently, but she wasn’t the first.
Vote up!
0
Bill Wilder
Bill Wilder on 05 Feb 2018 [232]Permalink

The Caldera term is different: open source code for
commercially-licensed software. I don’t think the story claims the
words “open” and “source” haven’t been combined before, just that it
was the right term at the right time for the concept we all now know
and love.
Vote up!
0
Nathanael
Nathanael on 08 Mar 2018 [233]Permalink

“The Caldera term is different: open source code for
commercially-licensed software.”

But Christine’s claim is more general. From the article above:

“to my knowledge, use of the term with respect to software prior to
1998 has not been confirmed.”

Not with respect to any particular licensing model, but simply “with
respect to software”.

I don’t doubt Christine’s recollection of events, or that she genuinely
was unaware of Caldera’s use of the term. Nevertheless, the Caldera
announcement *is* a confirmed case of prior use “with respect to
software”.
Vote up!
0
Nathanael
Nathanael on 04 Feb 2018 [234]Permalink

Caldera, Inc. open-sourced DR-DOS in 1996.

[235]http://www.xent.com/FoRK-archive/fall96/0269.html
Vote up!
0
Nik Smith
Nik Smith on 05 Feb 2018 [236]Permalink

Really have been intreged and motivated by the learning experience.
Over the years i have grown to want to go back to school for
technology. computer science and web design. In collaboration with
T_rae and our Aims higher i hope we will do great things with open
source and be benificial to many. thanks for the life lessons and
source for which foundations are built.
Vote up!
0
zep
zep on 06 Feb 2018 [237]Permalink

Did anyone notice or object that "open source" sounds like "open
sores"? Personally, I think that helped by bringing a vague
familiarity.

Elaboration from Christine on that between-meeting brainstorming would
be historically interesting. Did she have other contending phrases she
ruled out? or almost went with?
Vote up!
0
Michael Tiemann
[238]Michael Tiemann on 06 Feb 2018 [239]Permalink

When I first came to Red Hat, the office lobby quoted Victor Hugo in
big bold letters: "Invading armies can be resisted, but not an idea
whose time has come." Inside the work areas were many quotes from
Gandhi, including "Be the change in the world you want to see." To me,
Open Source was the idea whose time had come, while Free Software was
the movement that encouraged individuals to be the change in the world
they wanted to see.

In the documentary "Revolution OS", I noted the irony that the idea of
a community free to innovate and commercialize their collective efforts
"sounded too much like Communism" to a Russian visitor. I left it to
the audience to think for themselves about the irony that such freedom
sounded equally repulsive to American capitalists. But there is a third
irony to the story: there is no single truth as to whether Open Source
or Free Software is the "right" answer. Rather, it is the power of the
two operating in concert that has transformed both the moment and the
movement to become the defining technology for the 21st century. Open
Source opened commercial doors that were barricaded against free
software. Free software has inspired individuals to create new projects
unimaginable to conventional commercial interests. Together they make a
virtuous cycle whose benefits we can see (and bank on) every single
day. In that spirit, we should celebrate the diversity of ideas and
approaches that brings us together to progress in truly substantial
ways.
Vote up!
3
Passer By
Passer By on 23 Feb 2018 [240]Permalink

I think Nathanael is right. Caldera is the true "coiner" of the term
open source in 1996. They used the term to advertise their intention to
distribute software source code for free (no license fees). That's what
open source means today, right? I'm sorry Christine, you scooped. Maybe
you read the press release and the term stuck in your mind. It happens.

"Caldera plans to openly distribute the source code for all of the DOS
technologies it acquired from Novell., Inc. on July 23, including
CP/M., DR DOS., PalmDOS., Multi-User DOS."
Vote up!
0
Patrick Carpenter
Patrick Carpenter on 02 Apr 2018 [241]Permalink

I found this blog which disputes the claim that Peterson coined the
term: [242]http://hyperlogos.org/blog/drink/term-Open-Source

I find the evidence in this blog to be fairly convincing.

I think that this evidence needs to be answered if Peterson is to
persist in her claim to have coined the term.

I recommend others take a look and judge for themselves whether an
answer is needed.
Vote up!
0
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