From j.d.boy at fsw.leidenuniv.nl Tue Aug 18 12:34:03 2026 From: j.d.boy at fsw.leidenuniv.nl (Boy, J.D. (John)) Date: Tue, 18 Aug 2026 12:34:03 +0000 Subject: [TOS] =?windows-1252?q?Preprint_Publication_=26_Request_for_Revi?= =?windows-1252?q?ew_=97_=AB_Open_Source_2=2E0_=3A_From_Open_Source_Softwa?= =?windows-1252?q?re_to_Open_Source_Resources=3F_=BB?= In-Reply-To: <8E23D423-0F32-4CE6-99C3-CD4BF7F2D693@open-models.org> References: <383ecd2b-bc77-4eac-835e-bbc521e4cce2@semioticrobotic.org> <52569a76-8d01-4cb4-a551-0da63a0cb50a@semioticrobotic.org> <0f69e972-6f47-43e1-9d74-555a5c5ee383@open-models.org> <4cd453a6-f1f9-4c79-99ee-fcd32b5a47b7@semioticrobotic.org> <8E23D423-0F32-4CE6-99C3-CD4BF7F2D693@open-models.org> Message-ID: Long-time lurker, first-time poster here. I followed this thread with interest and wanted to come in with a late reply that may be of interest to Simon Rossi and others on this list. Recently, the Digital Infrastructure Insights Fund published my report "What Comes After FOSS?" that is the result of several years of ethnographic research. It provides some inklings of how technologists are questioning FOSS orthodoxies, what they are retaining, and what they are moving on to. Summary: Technologists jointly producing and freely sharing software have had a decisive impact on our digital infrastructure. Their work has been shaped not just by changes in technology, but by changing cultural repertoires as well. The research underlying this report was motivated by such a cultural shift among technologists: the ?post-FOSS moment.? There are multiple reasons why technologists no longer take the free and open source software movement for granted as the main point of reference for their work. This report proposes a conceptual tripod to make sense of this discontinuity. First, as Big Tech has attained ever greater power over the labor process of developers by using FOSS to set standards, a process of recursive deskilling has taken place resulting in bloat, burnout, and a loss of craft. Second, repeated failures of FOSS norms and organizations to resolve problems have brought about a legitimation crisis calling the implicit liberalism of FOSS into question. This loss of legitimacy pertains to deliberation as a means of decision-making and to licensing (both copyleft and permissive) as a means of empowerment and control. Third, ingrained habits and norms among technologists have turned into learning blockages that manifest in stagnation, regressive behaviors, and backlash. Next, the report presents insights from a workshop with members of three communities of practice in which technologists respond to the post-FOSS moment and its learning needs. They work on permacomputing, server collectives, and decentralized networking technologies. A discussion with members of these communities of practice brought to light multiple themes: they agree on the need for a substantive vision of computing, they draw inspiration widely from diverse forms of organization and governance, they recognize that vibes matter, and they seek to foster intrinsic joy. Taken together, these themes provide inklings of the collective learning process technologists are engaged in and of the repertoires they will draw on going forward. Recognizing that a cultural shift away from old orthodoxies is happening is a necessary starting point for expanding the map of technical practices that will shape the digital infrastructure of tomorrow. Find the full report here: https://infrastructureinsights.fund/projects/what-comes-after-foss/ Archived here: https://doi.org/10.17613/5w713-y4n33 The report is chock-full of references and empirical insights, but I tried to write it in an accessible style. I hope you enjoy it and find it useful! John