Closed source a few things

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! Closed source a few things Ben Balter @benbalter [email protected] government.github.com

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! In the beginning, there was open source…

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PDP-1 (or so I’m told)

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Open source at the Tech Model Railroad Club

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! All the easy problems have already been solved

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‣ How to convey material goods over large distances ‣ How to disseminate text-based information to a large audience ‣ In computer science, just about everything up to the application layer Things people don’t worry about

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! Developers should focus on solving unsolved challenges

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! Unlike literature, through object code  software allows us to obscure   from others what we’ve learned

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! All alchemists had to   discover for themselves that drinking mercury would kill you

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! Why closed source?

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! Open source used to be hard

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! Open source software used to be terrible

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! Open source works behind the scenes

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! Open source isn’t marketed (think suits versus t-shirts)

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! Today, tech companies open source everything but the secret sauce

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Startups twitter.github.io yelp.github.io

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netﬂix.github.io adobe.github.io

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Tech Giants sap.github.io ibm.github.io microsoft.github.io

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! Let’s say you and I want to lock our front door

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! We each design a lock, install it in the door, and carry the key

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! We’re also both human. Our locks are flawed

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! You keep the design to yourself. After all, it’s a lock.

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! I share my design with others, keeping the specifics of my key

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! Neither of us are full-time locksmiths, and go about doing the thing we originally set out to do

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! As people install my lock in different places they find and fix flaws. My lock gets better.

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! A robber tries common ways   to break into both houses.   Whose stuff is more secure?

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! Why open source?

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! Security through obscurity versus eyes rendering all bugs shallow

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‣ Your custom software being hacked doesn’t make headlines   (or if it does, the vendor isn’t in the story) ‣ Vulnerabilities are discovered, discussed, and patched in the open, with the fix being seen as a feature, not a potential lawsuit ‣ More rapid release cycles means more patches You hear a lot about open source vulnerabilities

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! The best developers in the world versus Just the ones on your payroll

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! Built for your (current) purpose versus Built for different purposes

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! Proprietary standards versus Open standards

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! Licensing versus Customization and support

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! Why open source in government?

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! Challenges not-unique to agencies

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! No private-sector competition

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! Day-to-day visibility into contractors’ efforts

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! Attract technical talent

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! Allow citizens to check your work

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! Tax-payer funded code

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! Don’t ask “what should be open source?”  Ask “what needs to be closed source?

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‣ The secret sauce — passwords, server configurations, launch codes, your competitive advantage, etc — where it can’t be abstracted out ‣ Anything so specific to your use case that others wouldn’t benefit ‣ Projects you don’t have the resources (or desire) to maintain — open source is free as in puppies, not free as in beer

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! All organizations go through three phases of open source

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‣ Consume open source — Stand up a Drupal site, Linux-based servers, rely on open source libraries ‣ Publish open source — Post a zip file to an FTP server   (or the modern equivalent) ‣ Participate in the open source community — engage developers, actively seek contributors, merge community contributions

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! Open source as a platform versus Open source as a workflow

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! Case Studies From around the Government

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! Who does the government collaborate with? Within an agency Between agencies With the public

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! Within an agency (or with external contractors)

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Between agencies

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With the Public

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! What government collaborates on Open source Open data Open government

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Open source (code)

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No content

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Open data

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No content

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No content

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Open government (policy)

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Information Sharing Environment Project Interoperability

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! If you only remember two things

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! 1. Open source ≠ Published source

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! Open Source (software)  software that can be freely used, modified, and shared (in both modified and unmodified form) by anyone

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! Open Source  a philosophy of collaboration in which working materials are made available online for anyone to fork, modify, discuss, and contribute to.

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! 2. Optimize for developers

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! You can have open source without executive oversight

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! You can have open source without policy guidance

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! You can’t have open source without developers

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! You can’t have open source without code

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! Best Practice #1: The technology is the easy part

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! Open source as a vehicle for organizational change

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! Best Practice #2: Start small, go through the motions

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! Organizations have muscle memory

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! Best Practice #3: Minimize information imbalance

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! Work outside the firewall

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! Best Practice #4: Minimize Friction

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! Friction (n) The time it takes to go from   “I want to contribute” to “I have contributed”

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! Best Practice #5: Be the hub, encourage spokes

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! You are the host of the internet’s most boring cocktail party

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! Closed source a few things Ben Balter @benbalter [email protected] government.github.com

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‣ PDP-1 — flickr.com/photos/hiddenloop/307119987/ ‣ Punch Card Decks — mehul panchal, via Wikimedia Commons Photo credits