Open collaborative design/Free and open-source software

Perhaps not counting the scientific community, free and open-source software is where the modern concept of commons-based peer production  really took flight. It is becoming very prominent in the world of software development with Linux, Firefox, Apache and OpenOffice being some high-profile examples.

Networks of people (both companies and individuals) collaborate via the internet to develop useful software that others can freely benefit from. Not only is the software free to use, but so is the human-readable blueprint of the software, known as the source code . Anyone capable is free to customise or help improve open-source software, and making these changes available to others also encourages rapid development times, robustness and reduces duplication of effort.

People who doubt the viability of the principles outlined on this page in the real world only have to look to this sector to see amazing examples of what is being achieved already.