The Shifting Sands of Motivation: Revisiting What Drives Contributors in Open Source
The Shifting Sands of Motivation: Revisiting What Drives Contributors in Open Source
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DOI：
10.1109/icse43902.2021.00098
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发表时间：
2021-01
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
M. Gerosa;I. Wiese;Bianca Trinkenreich;Georg J. P. Link;G. Robles;Christoph Treude;Igor Steinmacher;A. Sarma
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文献类型：
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作者：
M. Gerosa;I. Wiese;Bianca Trinkenreich;Georg J. P. Link;G. Robles;Christoph Treude;Igor Steinmacher;A. Sarma
开放源码软件（OSS）在过去十年中发生了巨大的变化，OSS项目现在产生了一个大型的流行产品生态系统，涉及行业参与，并提供专业的职业机会。但是我们这个领域对人们为OSS做出贡献的动机的理解仍然是基于21世纪初的研究。随着开放源码软件格局的变化，加入开放源码软件的动机也很可能发生变化。通过对242名OSS贡献者的调查，我们从三个方面调查了动机的变化：（1）新OSS环境的影响，（2）个人成长的影响，因为他们成为OSS社区的一部分，（3）个人人口统计学差异的影响。我们的研究结果表明，一些动机与社会方面和声誉的频率增加，一些内在的和内化的动机，如学习和智力刺激，仍然是高度相关的。我们还发现，为OSS做出贡献通常会将外在动机转变为内在动机，而经验丰富的贡献者通常会转向利他主义，新手通常会转向职业，乐趣，亲属关系和学习。开放源码软件项目可以利用我们的结果来重新审视当前的战略，以吸引和留住贡献者，研究人员和工具构建者可以更好地支持新的研究和工具的设计，以参与和支持开放源码软件的开发。
Open Source Software (OSS) has changed drastically over the last decade, with OSS projects now producing a large ecosystem of popular products, involving industry participation, and providing professional career opportunities. But our field's understanding of what motivates people to contribute to OSS is still fundamentally grounded in studies from the early 2000s. With the changed landscape of OSS, it is very likely that motivations to join OSS have also evolved. Through a survey of 242 OSS contributors, we investigate shifts in motivation from three perspectives: (1) the impact of the new OSS landscape, (2) the impact of individuals' personal growth as they become part of OSS communities, and (3) the impact of differences in individuals' demographics. Our results show that some motivations related to social aspects and reputation increased in frequency and that some intrinsic and internalized motivations, such as learning and intellectual stimulation, are still highly relevant. We also found that contributing to OSS often transforms extrinsic motivations to intrinsic, and that while experienced contributors often shift toward altruism, novices often shift toward career, fun, kinship, and learning. OSS projects can leverage our results to revisit current strategies to attract and retain contributors, and researchers and tool builders can better support the design of new studies and tools to engage and support OSS development.