Someone said this today in a mailing list I'm subscribed to:

The open source philosophy ([name redacted] is an open-source content management system--web site builder) still amazes me. When anyone complains about the state of humanity today, we need only look at the open source community to remind ourselves that all is not lost and that there are many generous people who gladly donate their time, expertise, and the fruits of both to vast communities of strangers.

I find myself feeling very ironic after reading this. It's the thing about "donating time ... to vast communities strangers". Aside from the obvious oxymoronic nature of the phrase "vast communities," I have a hard time with the idea of doing good for strangers as a model of moral life. More later....