The Most Influential People In Open Source

mmaney writes "As part of its 2009 open source best practices research, MindTouch asked C and VP level open source executives who they thought are the most influential people in the industry today. The list is ranked by the effect these individuals have had on the open source industry. Over 50 votes from executives in Europe and North America were cast. There were a few surprises from outside of the open source industry. Steve Ballmer got a mention because of his negative remarks on the open source industry and its subsequent positive impact. Vivek Kundra was mentioned because of his contributions to the industry inside the US Federal Government. Notably absent, however, are any influential women." Relatedly, Matt Asay (who is also on the list) writes about the decreased need for open-source evangelism, noting that several people on the list are there "not because they're open-source cheerleaders, but because they have helped vendors and customers alike understand how to get the most from open-source investments."

Comments

Bill Gates?

[vawarayer]

Someone who makes us want to look for alternatives?

Re:Bill Gates?

[ozmanjusri]

Believe me, I had the same thought on reading the title of the article, but Steve's inclusion certainly covers it.

He was also heavily involved in the creation of the "Most Influential" document.

It's really just a leaked copy of Microsoft Enforcement squad's hit list.

Slashdotted

[eln]

I'm very impressed with this list. It's about time the venerable Mr. Error Establishing a Database Connection got his due.

Re:Fifty votes from "executives"?

[wisty]

I'll agree. People like Knuth, Larry, and Guido were more important for their documentation and marketing efforts than their actual code.

Re:WTF?

[TheRaven64]

I wish I hadn't heard of Drupal...

But what about...

[lucm]

...Darl McBride? I think he is someone who had an effect on the open source industry.

Steve Ballmer

[n3v]

Because M$ sucks!