A forge is just a tool, but is it the right tool?
Ross Gardler
@rgardler
Presentation is © OpenDirective 2012 – Some Rights ReservedLicensed under Creative Commons By AttributionAll images are public domain.
Dangers of Reductionism
• Abraham Maslow: Psychologist– 1960’s published The Psychology of Science
• Dangers of reductionism in psychology• People document atomic and chemical cogs
and gears– Is that understanding?
• Need to look at the big picture– Butterfly effect
Law of the Instrument
• "I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail.”– Abraham Maslow 1966
• "I call it the law of the instrument, and it may be formulated as follows: Give a small boy a hammer, and he will find that everything he encounters needs pounding.“– Abraham Kaplan 1964
Studying Open Source
Producing Open Source
A Project Without People
A Forge Without Projects
Collaborators, not Tools, Cogs and Gears
Collaborators, not Tools, Cogs and Gears
Nature or Nurture?
Community maturity
Maturity Level Description
Seed An idea and a blank canvas
Germination Early “spike” implementations
Seedling Implementation path is reasonably clear
Juvenile Becoming viable as a project, no community yet
Flowering Providing value to third parties, third parties are adopting
Pollination Third parties are starting to contribute to rather than just take
Fruiting Self organising community project but still dependant on a lead
Ripening Community led project, loss of leadership will not kill the project
Dispersal Project is spawning an eco-system of its own
Forges are tools for building communities
