Comment on: "NewsForge | Is Linux more than an operating system?"

Some anonymous contributor wrote something IMHO quite nice, as a comment to a newsforge item:
NewsForge | Is Linux more than an operating system?:

"To my way of thinking, Linux, GNU, FOSS etc.. are simply the first iterations of the major societal changes being brought about by the maturation of the Information or Electronic revolution. These changes are mainly in the collaborative efforts of disparate regions to supply themselves and others with the benefits of their ideas, input and methods of operation.

When I first began programming in the 80's, the sharing of ideas and techniques was a normal activity. I, as well as most others, could hardly wait to get on-line and show others what we had learned, thought of, or improved. And by reading the posts of other developers, I was able to improve in my craft rapidly and effectively. Many developers of that era owe our own technical expertise to the free and open sharing of ideas, techniques and implementation.

The major impetus of Open collaboration is not merely financial, but seems to be driven by necessity and desire. The need for software to provide particular functionality, and the desire to share that functionality with others who may need it. The open sharing of ideas, implementation or functionality spurs the overall industry into a more robust and support driven model, which the businesses based on former models of proprietary control of access cannot challenge. They cannot challenge it, mainly as it is not a business model, but an evolution of human social interaction, collaboration and cooperation. The
offspring of the Electronic/Information Revolution are not approaches to technical production of goods, but more a communicative, conversational approach to human social and industrial situations.

In an effort to demean or thwart the growth of the collaborative model, many have attempted to deride it as a mere 'amateur' effort. This disengenuous
argument fails to take into consideration the number of industries, technologies, and discoveries that were and are made by 'amateurs'. The firs"