Who Can Use Open Source Software?
Who can use open source software? Anyone and everyone.
Succinctly: everyone. Open source software is meant to be distributed to as large a user base as possible, so the intention is that as many people as possible on an international scale have access to open source software. Furthermore, open source does not necessarily mean that one need to have an interest in source code or in the development of software. To use open source software, one must simply be interested in the software and to contribute to an open source initiative, one must simply have an opinion that they share with the open source community (usually, the ability to share opinions or desired advancements in the software is offered as a provision of the program).
Who Can Improve Open Source Software?
Any open source developer can review the source code and apply improvements to open source software. This includes any type of developer interested in a collaborative effort, whether it’s for a program, an application, an entire operating system, or even a website. There are no mitigating requirements to participate in a collaborative effort to improve or develop software; one must simply have an interest in the endeavor and the capability to do so.
Why Is Open Source Software So “Open”?
Open source software is the most widely available software on the market due to the fact that it isn’t distributed to a specific market niche like freeware and it isn’t distributed through a specific channel like shareware. In other words, freeware is created for a specific market segment usually for the purpose of marketing another product, service, or organization. Freeware, on the other hand, is developed by a specific team or organization, but since it is not released with the purpose of inciting a collaborative effort (and thus, without access to the source code), it touts developers that created it. Thus, it is released only through that team or firm rather than being accessible in the common realm. Open source software is released with the intention of inciting a collaborative effort and therefore is disseminated as widely as possible. Additionally, open source software is released without being tethered to the organization or team or developers that produced it, thus rendering it available through a variety of channels if necessary. As a result, open source software is the most “open” software on the market.
