The invaluable opensource.com site is reborn as opensource.net

Thanks to the Open Source Initiative, one of the best open-source and Linux how-to and feature sites is coming back to life.

Author

Steven Vaughan-Nichols
September 18, 2023

There have been many great open-source and Linux sites over the years. Linux Weekly News (LWN) for deep Linux kernel news; Phoronix for down, dirty, and detailed Linux benchmarking; and I've been known to write a thing or two about Linux worth reading over the years. But, for general, how-to and technical features about Linux and open-source software, one website stood out from the others for its breadth of informed coverage: Red Hat's OpenSource.com. But, then, Red Hat had its first layoff, OpenSource.com closed its doors, and all its content disappeared with it.

It was a dark day.

For over a decade, Opensource.com had carved a niche for itself as a premier destination for everything related to open source. In its illustrious 12-year journey, the community came together to produce over 10,000 articles, advocating for the dissemination and growth of open-source concepts.

But, then, the Open Source Initiative (OSI), which usually focuses on open-source licensing, came to the rescue, by launching a new site based on the old foundation OpenSource.net: Red Hat has fully supported this transition. Select articles from the former website will be republished on the new site. Further buttressing the project's continuity, Seth Kenlon, Opensource.com's community manager, will help with the new site.

Going forward, OpenSource.net will be more than just a website. As a community-centric initiative, backed by the OSI, a 501c(3) organization and guardian of the Open Source Definition, it aims to foster and champion a thriving open-source ecosystem.

Emphasizing the community-first approach, OpenSource.net has launched a dedicated group to facilitate discussions about its development. The platform encourages enthusiasts and experts to register and share their thoughts and article suggestions related to open knowledge. Collaboration is at the core of its values, as evidenced by the invaluable website design and support rendered by Automattic, the brains behind WordPress.com.

All OpenSource.net content will honor the authors' rights by adhering to the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 (CC BY-SA 4,0) International License. Moreover, with OSI at the helm, they are actively seeking underwriting opportunities to ensure this venture's sustained success and growth.

The OSI will be providing OpenSource.net with operational support. The OSI is also working to establish underwriting opportunities to help support this work. If you are interested in supporting this initiative, please contact the OSI.

Stefano Maffulli, the OSI's executive director, added, "A group has been established to host community discussions about the development of OpenSource.net. Join us! You can also get involved by registering on OpenSource.net and pitching article ideas about open knowledge."

The OSI has started with a bang. New stories on such subjects as Open Federated Learning (OpenFL); What makes Linux a sustainable operating system; and Apache Groovy are already available for your enjoyment on OpenSource.net.

I'm looking forward to seeing the old stories returning and new ones appearing for the first time. I always found OpenSource.com to be extraordinarily useful, and I hope the new one will match its predecessor.

Noteworthy Linux and open-source stories: