VICTOR Y MARY SHELLEY, YO SOY EL FRANKENSTEIN

The Apache Software Foundation (ASF) provides organizational, legal, and finan- cial support for a broad range of open-source software projects. The ASF provides an established framework for intellectual property and financial contributions that simultaneously limits contributors’ potential legal exposure. Through a collabora- tive and meritocratic development process, Apache projects deliver enterprise-grade, freely available software products that attract large communities of users. The prag- matic Apache License makes it easy for all users—whether commercial enterprises or individuals—to deploy Apache products.

Formerly known as the Apache Group, the ASF has been incorporated as a mem- bership-based, not-for-profit corporation to ensure that the Apache projects con- tinue to exist beyond the participation of individual volunteers. Individuals who have demonstrated a commitment to collaborative open-source software develop- ment, through sustained participation and contributions within the ASF’s projects, are eligible for membership in the ASF. An individual is awarded membership after nomination and approval by a majority of the existing ASF members. Thus the ASF is governed by the community it most directly serves—the people collaborating within its projects.

The ASF members periodically elect a Board of Directors to manage the Foundation’s organizational affairs, as accorded by the ASF bylaws. The Board, in turn, appoints officers who oversee the day-to-day operations of the ASF. A num- ber of public records of the ASF’s operations are made available to the community.

1.2.1 Meritocracy

Unlike many other software development efforts conducted under an open-source license, the Apache Web Server was not initiated by a single developer (for exam- ple, like the Linux Kernel or the Perl/Python languages), but rather started as a diverse group of people who shared common interests and got to know one another by exchanging information, fixes, and suggestions.

As the group started to develop its own version of the software, moving away from the NCSA version, more people were attracted to the effort. They started to help out, first by sending little patches, or suggestions, or replying to e-mail on the mail list, and later by making more important contributions.

When the group felt that a person had “earned” the right to be part of the devel- opment community, its members granted the individual direct access to the code repository. This approach both expanded the group and increased its ability to develop the Apache program and maintain it more effectively.

We call this basic principle meritocracy—literally, “government of merit.” The mer- itocracy process scaled very well without creating friction. Unlike in other situations where power is a scarce and conservative resource, in the Apache group newcomers were seen as volunteers who wanted to help, rather than as people who wanted to steal a position.

At the same time, because there is no pressure to recruit more members, Apache is not scrabbling for scarce talent in a competitive environment. Instead, it can afford to restrict itself to people with a proven track record of contributions and a positive attitude. And because it is a virtual community, it is worldwide and not constrained by geography.

1.2.2 Roles

The meritocracy supports a variety of roles.

User

A user is someone who uses the software. Users contribute to the Apache projects by providing feedback to developers in the form of bug reports and feature

suggestions. Users may also participate in the Apache community by helping other users on mailing lists and user support forums.

Developer

A developer is a user who contributes to a project by submitting code or documen- tation. Developers take extra steps to participate in a project, are active on the devel- oper mailing list, participate in discussions, and provide patches, documentation, suggestions, and criticism. Developers are also known as contributors.

Committer

A committer is a developer who was given write access to the code repository and has a signed Contributor License Agreement (CLA) on file. All committers have an

apache.orgmail address. Not needing to depend on other people for the patches,

these individuals actually make short-term decisions for the project, subject to over- sight from the Project Management Committee (PMC).

PMC Member

A PMC member is a developer or a committer who was elected to the PMC on a merit basis, in recognition of his or her role in the evolution of the project and demonstration of commitment. PMC members have write access to the code repos- itory, an apache.orgmail address, the right to vote on community-related deci-

sions, and the right to propose an active user for committer status. The PMC as a whole is the entity that controls the project.

ASF Member

An ASF member is a person who was nominated by current ASF members and elected due to merit based on his or her role in the evolution and progress of the ASF. Members care for the ASF itself. This concern is usually demonstrated through the roots of project-related and cross-project activities. Legally, a member is a “shareholder” of the Foundation, one of the owners. ASF members have the right to elect the Board of Directors, to stand as a candidate for the Board election, to propose a committer for membership, and to participate in a wide range of other roles within the ASF.

1.2.3 Philosophy

While there is not an official list, certain principles have been cited as the core beliefs of philosophy behind the ASF. These principles are sometimes referred to as “The Apache Way”:

• Collaborative software development • Commercial-friendly standard license • Consistently high-quality software

• Respectful, honest, technical-based interaction • Faithful implementation of standards

• Security as a mandatory feature