– “Open Source: Frequently Asked Questions” do SecondLife.com®:
In simple terms, “open source” means making the source code available for copying, and explicitly allowing users to modify their copy, and share their modified version with their friends, their customers, or the rest of the world.
This is quite a difference from everything we have been seeing as “competition” in the recent past — all of them are based on the model that you have to trust the company to stay around. Linden Lab® effectively moved the trust into the hands of the users and the product.
– “Second Life® Goes Open Source– First Thoughts, With Linden Lab’s® Replies (Updated)” de Wagner James Au:
The official announcement begins by comparing Linden’s® move to what Netscape did (motivated by “acceptance of the inevitable or simple desperation”), when they opened the source to their browser, which led to a fruition of Web development.
– “Second Life® Client Becomes Open Source de Gwyneth Llewelyn®:
The message now for the competitors is that Linden Lab® has raised the bar. […] No, now the competition will have to release the source code, the communication protocol, and replicate the developer community in order to survive. And this to potential competitors which don’t even exist — yet.
