I've just realised that by the understanding of "Open Source" assumed by Luke and by many of the commenters here:
- Firefox isn't Open Source.
- Lots of other things often held up as shining examples of Open Source are not Open Source.
...because they are worked on by people or teams who decide their own design goals and roadmap, and while you can contribute and talk about the project, many users feel the project moves on without catering to their needs or remaining compatible over time.
Firefox is an interesting example, not only because it's a poster child for Open Source, but because it evolved from Netscape Navigator's source release and is associated with events when the "Open Source" term was being coined.
- Firefox isn't Open Source.
- Lots of other things often held up as shining examples of Open Source are not Open Source.
...because they are worked on by people or teams who decide their own design goals and roadmap, and while you can contribute and talk about the project, many users feel the project moves on without catering to their needs or remaining compatible over time.
Firefox is an interesting example, not only because it's a poster child for Open Source, but because it evolved from Netscape Navigator's source release and is associated with events when the "Open Source" term was being coined.