Open source software is truly a blessing.  In the early days of computing and the Internet the community rose around technology and people loved to help one another solve problems.  That was the core of the relationship - the solving of a problem for no other reason than because it needed to be solved.  The satisfaction upon doing so was the reward - not money or notoriety, but the personal satisfaction of having overcome a barrier presented by immutable technology.

This community thrives in the world of open source.  Problems in computing appear somewhere every second, and the knowledge we gain today helps us to solve tomorrow's problems.  Technology is a tool, and in order to remain effective, tools must evolve.  Every day someone looks at how a thing is being done and thinks, "this could be done better."  When that person sits down and writes the software which solves his problem, he is a pioneer on his edge of the Internet.  

When this creator takes his work and sets it free, so that others can solve similar problems or take his experience and shape it to their own need, he has embraced the truest sense of community.  He understands that by relinquishing control over the object it will grow faster than it ever could with him alone.  His creation takes on a life of its own and can grow to its fullest potential, lifted up by the countless minds and perceptions of those people who use it and make it better.