
Faces of Open Source - smartmic
http://www.facesofopensource.com/
======
bitwize
My thoughts going through this:

"That Weird Al-looking dude is Larry Wall, right?"

It was.

"Who's this guy? He looks like the Architect from _The Matrix_."

It was Vint Cerf. He _is_ the Architect of the Matrix.

~~~
JetSpiegel
Ohh, I actually believed Vint Cerf had played The Archited on The Matrix... It
was actually Helmut Bakaitis.

------
rvz
Strange to see that the authors of the LLVM project, Chris Lattner and Vikram
Adve are not present given that LLVM has been used by many large companies
(Google, NVIDIA, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, Intel, ARM, AMD, etc) and
projects like Rust, Julia and Swift.

GNU, GCC, are also free, libre and open-source software (FLOSS) which its very
surprising to see the creator and founder Richard Stallman to be missing in
this website.

Without him, Linus might have chosen to have kept Linux closed-source.

~~~
chrisseaton
Why does nobody here understand that the faces included aren’t exhaustive?
It’s obviously not all faces, and it doesn’t even claim to be just the top
faces - it’s ‘notable and unsung’. More practically, it’s probably who made
themselves available to be photographed and who would he photographer could
get in touch with.

~~~
luckylion
> It’s obviously not all faces, and it doesn’t even claim to be just the top
> faces - it’s ‘notable and unsung’.

It's a _documentation of the people behind the development and advancement of
the open source revolution_. Sure, that doesn't claim that nobody else plays a
role, but it has a hint of that.

> More practically, it’s probably who made themselves available to be
> photographed and who would he photographer could get in touch with.

Sounds plausible, yeah. The wording makes it sound like more though, but
that's probably marketing, because "portraits of some people in the open
source movement that I know/was able to meet" sounds less impressive and
authoritative than Faces Of Open Source.

~~~
hombre_fatal
But it seems obvious that it can't be exhaustive. It's clearly a photo shoot.
And it's on-going (you can subscribe to it).

I'd rather people learn to think critically instead of getting worked up that
every exception wasn't enumerated in the tagline.

~~~
luckylion
I don't believe that has anything to do with critical thinking. It's likely
just marketing by the creators and they don't mean to claim to judge the value
of contributions, but they are declaring that these are the faces behind the
open source revolution. Wording matters.

------
Jefro118
This is awesome! I love the photography style.

I've been working on something parallel to this myself - interviews with open
source maintainers to celebrate their work and aggregate advice for others[1].
It's great to see another example of open source work being highlighted.

Some of the images load a little slowly for me - the images in the modals
could be compressed as I notice that the file is often significantly larger
than the size it is displayed at on the page.

[1] - [https://sourcesort.com](https://sourcesort.com)

------
DoofusOfDeath
I like the stark, high-contrast style of the photos.

~~~
fmajid
Reminiscent of Avedon's "In the American West". Those were shot on 11x14
large-format film, and the detail on the slightly larger than life print has
to be seen up close and personal to be believed.

------
mfer
I'm surprised to see Eric Schmidt on there. I wonder what the criteria was for
inclusion.

------
pepijndevos
How many people do you actually recognize?

Personally, only Limor Fried. It's weird, but also interesting, that tech is
so faceless.

~~~
rootbear
I recognized quite a few, since I met several of them at the old Usenix
conferences I used to attend. Dennis Ritchie, Eric Allman, Kirk McCusick,
Keith Bostic. A few others. I would like to have seen the late Evi Nemeth, but
she was known more for System Administration than for open source, I suppose.
I also recognized Guido van Rossum and Keith Packard, again from conferences.
You really get to match a name to a face at events like that.

------
rmusial
That so many people are asking "where is Stallman" on a site called Faces of
_Open Source_ makes be wonder how many of RMS' fans actually really listen to
him. He loathes the term Open Source and sees it as direct attack on him and
his Free Software movement[1].

[1] [https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/open-source-misses-the-
point....](https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/open-source-misses-the-
point.en.html)

~~~
luckylion
Reading their about page [1], I'm not convinced they're making a conscious
decision to call it open source instead of free software. I don't think the
general public (which this is aimed at, it seems) differentiates the two
either.

[1]
[http://www.facesofopensource.com/about/](http://www.facesofopensource.com/about/)

~~~
rmusial
It's not the site's issue, it's Stallman. Even if they didn't intend for it to
be a strict Open Source site, it has Open Source in the name which Stallman
wouldn't participate in. The same way Stallman won't participate in (at least
at the time of writing this comment) shows or conferences that only use Linux
in the name and not GNU/Linux. For example he won't go to something like Ohio
LinuxFest and the Linux Action Show had to rename itself the GNU/Linux Action
Show to get him to come on. For some people the work of changing the name is
worth it, for others it's not worth the hassle.

~~~
type0
OSDEM conference even renamed itself on request of Stallman
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FOSDEM#cite_ref-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FOSDEM#cite_ref-3)

------
jancsika
Someone should make a "Faces of Free Software" that subtly photoshops Stallman
into every single image on that site. (Using Gimp of course.)

------
aloisdg
Sara Chipps is on there. I only know her from her Stack Overflow drama. I am
not sure about what she is doing on this website with Ken Thompson or Larry
Wall. I guess I am not aware of her revolutionary side.

~~~
icholy
Yeah, some of the people they decided to include devalue the whole list ...

------
TomMasz
So many of these people I knew by name but had no idea what they looked like
or at best hadn't seen a photo of them in 20+ years (which is effectively the
same thing).

As a photographer, it's always nice to see black&white photos. They have a
power and charm that is so different from color.

------
notkaiho
Positives about this: A good mix of people in terms of gender and what they
have contributed.

~~~
numlock86
Why would the gender even be relevant?

~~~
fmajid
So all potential future open-source contributors feel "I can be part of this"
rather than excluded.

I just wish there were more women who were actual open-source programmers
rather than journalists, executives or advocates. People like Margo Seltzer
(BerkeleyDB) or Lynne Jolitz (386BSD).

~~~
collyw
Is there any evidence that showing pictures of women actually makes a
difference with this?

~~~
playpause
I'd be very surprised to see evidence to the contrary, as it's just an obvious
fact of life that people generally feel less confident about entering a
community that lacks anyone else like them. Have you never felt
intimidated/uneasy when entering a group situation in which every other person
was a particular race/gender/age group to which you don't belong?

~~~
collyw
Not that I can think of, but then I don't really define myself by my gender or
race or really give much time to identity politics in general.

~~~
telesilla
May I posit this is because you are rarely in situations where you feel your
gender is pronounced? If you were, say, a man applying for a job as a general
hospital nurse, you would feel this, or as a heterosexual hairstylist applying
for a salon job. There are stereotypes you would feel pressure to justify why
you, who do not fit the stereotype, would be a beneficial person to hire, in
such cases.

------
alex_hitchins
Is it not missing Eric S. Raymond?

EDIT : Yes, he is there - just didn't recognise him.

~~~
dchest
[http://www.facesofopensource.com/eric-
raymond/](http://www.facesofopensource.com/eric-raymond/)

~~~
alex_hitchins
There he is! I just didn't recognize him. Thanks for pointing him out. I was
feeling quite aggrieved on his behalf there!

------
folkhack
I know there's a ton of "where is X?" going on - but one that I would like to
see on here is John Resig, jQuery is still practically _everywhere_.

------
wastedhours
It's an interesting glimpse into the sphere, highlights different people and
different achievements, shows that not all contributions have to be code to
help OSS, and due to the stylised nature is obviously non-exhaustive for
practical reasons.

It adds a touch of humanity to technology that is often lost.

Of course, as a large percentage of the comments here show, we must criticise
and tear-down everything...

------
m0zg
This must be old. Guido hasn't been BDFL for a while now. And the achievement
gap is very wide between people on the list. You have inventors of the
internet and several dominant programming languages alongside some "advocates"
nobody has ever heard of.

~~~
ahbyb
The point of this website is diversity.

~~~
oneeyedpigeon
I'm not sure where you're getting that from — it isn't mentioned on the about
page[1].

I suspect you've made that assumption _because_ they happen to be diverse, and
the stereotype is that computing itself tends not to be. However, I think that
is exaggerated, and projects such as this one aim to redress the balance.

But I don't think that's the primary aim at all — the _primary_ aim is to
exhibit photographs of people involved in open source, in an attempt to raise
their profile.

> The project is comprised of portraits of notable and unsung heroes who
> dedicate themselves to the creation and advancement of our open source
> technologies.

[1]
[http://www.facesofopensource.com/about/](http://www.facesofopensource.com/about/)

~~~
ahbyb
>I'm not sure where you're getting that from — it isn't mentioned on the about
page[1].

Obviously. They want to pretend the diversity portrayed in that website is
normal.

>I suspect you've made that assumption because they happen to be diverse, and
the stereotype is that computing itself tends not to be. However, I think that
is exaggerated, and projects such as this one aim to redress the balance.

Let's agree to disagree then.

------
sellingwebsite
I was expecting to see Matz^ there but ...

^ Yukihiro Matsumoto - creator of the Ruby Language
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yukihiro_Matsumoto](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yukihiro_Matsumoto)

~~~
DarkWiiPlayer
As was pointed out in some other comment, this list seems to be heavily
focused on north-america. I'd also love to see Roberto Ierusalimschy on the
list, but he's not on it either.

------
lwh
Wish it was no-pictures as a rule

------
kstenerud
Why is Richard Stallman's photo not present?

~~~
Beltiras
I think we all know why Hans Reiser isn't there.

~~~
BuildTheRobots
His filesystem was revolutionary and open source and should be mentioned in
there - in fact I'd still go to him if I needed a filesystem. I would not go
soliciting marriage advice though :(

More seriously, I think it's wrong to sanitise technological and scientific
history when afterwards it's decided that someone isn't a good person.
Footnote to that effect; sure. Leaving them conspicuously absent, less so.

edit: though, as the photographer is seemingly taking the portraits himself, I
can imagine some devs are easier to get to than others.

------
enriquto
a bit sad to see that notoriously "free software" people like Bradley Kuhn and
Karen Sadler have agreed to appear here.

~~~
fmajid
Perhaps they are less doctrinaire than RMS.

------
gnrlbzik
No idea why there is duplicates of same people but with different photos

------
njn
Missing Lennart Poettering.

~~~
jerojasro
Missing Theo de Raadt as well.

------
nautilus12
Where is Ian Murdock?

~~~
rmusial
Faces of Open Source seems to be a one person project (Peter Adams) who is a
photographer and personally takes the picture of each subject. Since Ian has
passed away I don't know how they would be able to be included. Also the site
obviously isn't exhaustive since there there are thousands of people in Open
Source and is always a work in progress being updated.

------
fortran77
Why is it necessary to know what a person _looks_ like in order to value
his/her/their contribution to open source? I think we should be beyond
physical appearance.

~~~
SiempreViernes
I find seeing their picture helps thinking of them as real (living) _persons_
, instead of just some abstract named entity.

------
RickJWagner
My thanks to all of them. And the ones who will follow.

------
jnamaya
Two weeks ago on Saturday morning I was driving my son to his soccer game
through Medford MA, when in one of the bus stops I saw Richard Stallman
waiting for the bus.

I told my wife, that's Richard! and I stopped right in the middle of the
street and jumped out of the car. I ran toward him and hugged him, and told
him to take care of himself and be strong. He didn't say a word.

I feel bad for the man, he looked a bit frail, and mind absent.

I can't believe history is being rewritten right in front of my eyes, the man
that started it all is being forgotten. Open Source is just a catchy marketing
phrase for "free software"

~~~
hutzlibu
"Open Source is just a catchy marketing phrase for "free software" "

Nope. Even RMS even insist it is not. Main difference is, free software
usually enforces "copyleft".

And open source not.

~~~
rmusial
If you read [https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/open-source-misses-the-
point....](https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/open-source-misses-the-
point.en.html) Stallman states that Free Software doesn't have to do with
copyleft vs permissive:

"Another misunderstanding of “open source” is the idea that it means “not
using the GNU GPL.” This tends to accompany another misunderstanding that
“free software” means “GPL-covered software.” These are both mistaken, since
the GNU GPL qualifies as an open source license and most of the open source
licenses qualify as free software licenses. There are many free software
licenses aside from the GNU GPL."

The Open Source Initiative sees the GPL as Open Source, and the Free Software
Foundation sees the ISC (OpenBSD license) as Free Software. Neither group's
definition depends on if it is copyleft of permissive.

------
ReggieJJJ
Can anyone make sense of why some people have two versions of pictures, one
close up of their bust, the other of most of their full body; while others
only have a single image? It seems rather arbitrary if it's intentional at
all.

------
rahuldottech
> Linus Torvalds invented the Linux operating system which is used to run the
> vast majority of computer servers connected to the Internet

Uhm, no. It's the Linux _kernel_ , used by the _GNU /Linux_ operating system.
I'm surprised that this website got something so simple wrong.

The Linux kernel is one part of what we know as the GNU/Linux OS

Apart from the kernel, virtually everything else in the core OS was written by
volunteers of the GNU project, and they deserve recognition for the same

Furthermore, calling Linus Torvalds the "inventor" of the OS in question is
factually incorrect. The GNU OS was in development long before they decided to
incorporate the Linux kernel.

------
d37ydThrAwy
> "Stormy Peters is an open source advocate and evangelist. Peters founded the
> Open Source Program Office at Hewlett Packard and has since held senior
> positions at several open source related organizations including the GNOME
> Foundation, Mozilla, Cloud Foundry Foundation, and Red Hat."

And just like that, "advocating and evangelizing" is apparently all it takes.
Can also call it what it often actually is - virtue signaling - but that's not
very popular with the kids these days.

~~~
Deukhoofd
She's the Director of the Open Source Programs Office at Microsoft, used to be
Executive Director of the Gnome Foundation, and used to be software engineer
on the Hewlett-Packard Unix development team.

------
Nux
1\. Broken on Firefox on Android, text unscrollable.

2\. Where the F is Stallman?

