OpenSource

Generally, open source refers to a computer program in which the source code is available to the general public for use or modification from its original design. Code is released under the terms of a software license. Depending on the license terms, others may then download, modify, and publish their version (fork) back to the community.

For many years in the Drupal community, I’ve found that my greatest pleasure is not in actually creating the next awesome feature (and, wow, we have some awesome features coming…) but in helping to mentor those who will in the future. Recently, an opportunity came up that interested me a lot. Cambridge University Press & Assessment were looking for a seasoned Drupal developer to help grow the in-house team as they deliver projects built on the platform. I could hardly say no! I very much wanted to look at how better active participation in the community can be a key driver for development of the team’s capabilities..

I’m constantly amazed how happy the people I know in open source are willing to help out. I needed some open source people to each record a short interview where I asked them about their motivations for contributing to open source projects, what things in projects might be detractors and, finally, what they see as their reward.

Well, I put out a quick tweet asking if anyone might be able to take part and I had half a dozen volunteers in only a few minutes!

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