Should open source projects look like companies? Of course not. For one thing, a company is a business, and an open source project is a community, with very different goals and needs.

When we think of open source’s influence on software, we tend to think about the legal implications. Open source made it acceptable to share, use and modify software freely.But open source changed how software companies build proprietary products, too. That open source principles are being used to develop closed source software speaks volumes about its cultural legacy.