Opensource.com

Opensource.com
Web address	Opensource.com
Slogan	"Discover an open source world"
Commercial?	No
Type of site	Open source news and analysis
Registration	Optional
Available in	English
Content license	Creative Commons (CC-BY-SA)
Current status	Active

Overview

Opensource.com is a news website that features stories about the ways open source principles—what the site's community calls "the open source way"—are affecting the world outside the domain of software development. The site's tagline invites readers to "discover an open source world."

Red Hat supports Opensource.com, which has remained ad-free since its 2010 inception.

In 2014, Opensource.com sponsored the All Things Open conference in Raleigh, NC.^[1]

Content

Opensource.com publishes daily news articles about open source projects, communities, or values. It categorizes articles into six "channels:" business, education, government, health, law, and life. Users can submit articles for publication on Opensource.com, but an editorial team curates the website.

The website also maintains a library of resources for explaining the open source philosophy to neophytes. These resources include a collection of answers to frequently asked questions about open source movements, a list of common open source applications, and a list of notable open source organizations and communities.

"Open Voices," Opensource.com's eBook series, collects the website's most popular articles.^[2]

The website also hosts a public calendar of open source-related conferences and events.^[3]

History

Opensource.com is the fourth iteration of Red Hat's editorial efforts. In October 1999, the company published its first issue of Under the Brim, an electronic newsletter offering "News and Notes from Inside Red Hat." The issue announced the release of Red Hat Linux 6.1.^[4]

In March 2004, Red Hat launched Wide Open Magazine, a print publication billed as "The Red Hat magazine for open source professionals and advocates."^[5] Bundled with the magazine's first issue was a copy of Fedora Core 1.

In November 2004, just after Under the Brim's fifth anniversary, Red Hat merged Under the Brim and Wide Open Magazine into a single, online-only publication called Red Hat Magazine.^[6]

In January 2010, Red Hat shuttered Red Hat Magazine and launched Opensource.com.^[7]

Editorial procedure

Opensource.com publishes original content from its editorial team, from members of open source project communities, and from high-profile open source thought leaders. Occasionally, the site syndicates content from other publications.

By default, Opensource.com licenses its original content under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license.^[8][9]

The website initially featured an editorial collective of Red Hat employees serving as channel moderators. Each moderator functioned as de facto editor of a content channel on Opensource.com. In 2012, Opensource.com altered the organization of its editorial operations. Internally, the site now operates more like a traditional news outlet, with a core editorial team overseeing the site's publication schedule and social media activity from Red Hat's Raleigh, NC headquarters. Former channel moderators continue to serve as advisers to Opensource.com.

In February 2013, Opensource.com launched its community moderator program. The program allows frequent contributors to act as advisers to the website and its community.

Technology

Opensource.com runs the open source Drupal content management system.

Readership

Opensource.com has reported the following page view data:

• January, 2014: 299,171 page views^[10]
• February, 2014: 325,775 page views^[11]
• March, 2014: 400,487 page views^[12]
• April, 2014: 373,457 page views^[13]
• May, 2014: 359,506 page views^[14]
• June, 2014: 373,457 page views^[15]

Notes and references