Digital Culture Essay: The Cathedral and the Bazaar Analysis

This essay examines the Linux operating system and its position within digital culture, particularly in relation to open-source software. It focuses on the arguments presented by Eric Raymond in 'The Cathedral and the Bazaar,' exploring how these ideas apply to Linux and the broader open-source community. The essay discusses the advantages and disadvantages of open-source software, highlighting security vulnerabilities and the potential for hacking, particularly in systems like Ubuntu. It analyzes the role of hackers and the challenges of maintaining security in a decentralized environment, arguing that the principle of command is difficult to apply to the volunteers present on the internet. The essay concludes that while open-source software offers benefits, the availability of source code online poses significant security risks, making systems susceptible to malicious attacks. It emphasizes the need for precautions to protect operating systems from hackers and the importance of understanding the 'Linus Law' in the context of open-source development. The essay highlights the ongoing tension between the ideals of open collaboration and the realities of digital security threats.

Running head: DIGITALCULTURE
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Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Introduction:
Linux is rebellious. Linux is one of the best operating system after Windows. The
community of Linux seems to resemble a great bazaar of various agendas and out of which a
system that is stable can emerge only by miracles. The Linux is very much used as a
substitute of the Windows operating system. There are various advantages of Linux over
Windows. It is an open source software and the source code of Linux is available to everyone
and it provides large community support. The essay focuses on the argument that is given by
Eric Raymond in his book The Cathedral and the Bazaar. The essay also focuses on how the
argument applies to the open source softwares of Linux.
Discussions
The argument of the author Eric Raymond is that the “severe effort of many
converging wills” is the requirement of a project like Linux and the principle of the
commands is effectively not possible among the various volunteers in the paradise of the
anarchists known as the internet (Raymond, 1999). The anarchists are the people who are also
known as the terrorists or the hackers those are present on the internet and these people are
responsible for maximum data breach that happens on the internet. In order to operate and
compete effectively, the attackers or the hackers need to learn to recruit and then energize the
communities of various interests. The method of Linux can be seen as a means in order to
develop a very good market in order to connect the selfishness of the hackers. As Linux is
open source, the source code of Linux is easily available online and anyone can make
changes in the source code especially the anarchist of the internet (Wang & Yang, 2017). It is
seen that Linux has been subjected to hacking due to a lack of training and implementation
rather than the issues of security in Linux.

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An open source operating system of Linux is Ubuntu. Ubuntu is an open source
distribution of Linux that is based on Debian. Ubuntu is considered a very good distribution
for the beginners (Ren et al.,2018). The operating system was used for the personal
computers but it can also be utilised on the servers. It is the operating that is utilised in daily
life and its source code is also available on the internet and the hackers can take advantage of
the source code and hack the operating the system. There are various advantages of Ubuntu.
The advantages include free of cost, it can be customized, secure than the Linux and it can be
easily updated without restarting (Banfield, Germaine & Gerard, 2016).
The ubuntu operating system can also be hacked, as the source code of the ubuntu
operating systems is available online. The hackers can place bugs in the operating system that
can infect the operating system and they can get the sensitive information that is available in
the system of the victim (Woermann & Engelbrecht, 2019). The argument of the author Eric
Raymond is correct as the principle of commands cannot be applied to the volunteers those
are present in the internet as there are hackers sitting on the internet. The principle of
command is a principle of management that is utilised in various organizations such as the
agencies of government, military and various corporations. The principle of commands holds
than an employee should always be answerable to one person. The principle of command
does not apply to the volunteers those are present on the internet as there are many hackers
and they are not answerable to anyone (Etieyibo, 2017).
Ubuntu can be easily hacked by the hackers and the principle of command will not
apply in this condition. There are no software those are immune to hacking not even Linux
(Ewuoso & Hall, 2019). The online forums of Ubuntu are hacked and data of about 2 million
users are compromised. The data of the users include the IP address, usernames and many
more and it can be considered sensitive. It is said in the book that the hackers must follow the
principle of understanding and must learn to utilise the law of Linus. The world of Linux

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behaves in various respects like a market that is free or ecology. The function of utility that
the hackers of Linux utilise is not so economic but they are intangible of the satisfaction of
their own ego and reputation among various hackers (Mwipikeni, 2018). The kernel projects
of Linux and the fetchmail, it can be showed that by appropriately rewarding the ego of
various hackers, a developer can utilise the internet in order to capture the advantages of
having many co-developers without collapsing the project into a mess.
It can be said that the future of the open-source software will belong to various people
that know the way to play the game of Linus (Garcia, 2019). These people leave the cathedral
and embrace the bazaar. It can be said that the brilliance and the vision will not matter
anymore, rather than the open source software will belong to those people that begin with
vision and brilliance and then they will maximize it through the construction that is effective.
However, this is not the future of the software those are open source (Rousidis &
Christodoulou, 2019). The developers those work on the closed source softwares cannot
match the talent of the Linux community.
Open source softwares are good but the main problem of the open source software is
that the source codes of softwares such as Linux and Ubuntu are available online and the
hackers can change the codes (Chauhan et al.,2018). Ubuntu operating system is much
secured than the Linux but it has the same problem as Linux that is the codes can be found
online in the internet and the anarchists of the internet that is the hackers can change the
codes and place bugs in the codes. Then the operating system will work as per the hacker’s
choice and the hacker can get the sensitive information those are present in the system of the
victim (Shaikh & Henfridsson, 2017).
The argument of the author of the book “The Cathedral and the Bazaar” is correct that
the principle of the command can be utilised and applied to the volunteers in the internet

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because the hackers are present in the internet and using open source softwares of Linux is
very harmful as the hackers can easily make changes in the source code and the commands of
Linux. Principle of commands means that the volunteers are answerable to one person but on
the internet, the hackers are also present and they are not answerable to anyone. Hence, the
argument of the author Eric Raymond is correct and appropriate (Schrape, 2018).
Conclusion
The essay concludes with the argument of the author Eric Raymond and the
application of the argument in the open source software like Ubuntu. Ubuntu is a open source
software that is used in daily life but it is not safe as the source codes and the commands are
found online and the hackers that is the anarchists of the internet can easily make changes in
the source codes and place bugs in the codes. The author is correct about the fact that the
principle of command cannot be applied to the volunteers in the internet as the hackers are
present and they are answerable to none about their actions. However, the open source
softwares are better than the closed source softwares as they are free and can be installed and
used. Ubuntu has much better security than Linux but the same goes for Ubuntu operating
system. The argument is quite clear and appropriate about the views of the author regarding
the point of view of the hackers upon the open source softwares like Linux, Ubuntu and many
more. It can be said that several precautions must be taken in order to protect the operating
systems from the hands of the hackers.

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References
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networking, and development skills with the# 1 Linux distribution!.
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Ewuoso, C., & Hall, S. (2019). Core aspects of ubuntu: A systematic review. South African
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Garcia, E. J. (2019). OER Software.
Mwipikeni, P. (2018). Ubuntu and the modern society. South African Journal of
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Schrape, J. F. (2018). Open Source Communities: The Sociotechnical Institutionalization of
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