Thoughts on The Cathedral and the Bazaar

Reading Eric Raymond’s The Cathedral and the Bazaar gave me a clearer understanding of the different ways software can be built. The “cathedral” style feels familiar from school and work—structured, centralized, and planned out in advance. The “bazaar” model, on the other hand, is more open and community-driven.

Working on our group project, I’ve seen elements of both. We started with a rough plan, but as we’ve built more and more, the process has started to feel like a bazaar: everyone jumping in, suggesting features, fixing bugs, and learning as we go. It’s definitely not perfect, but it’s flexible—and that’s made a big difference.

The “Coffeehouse” Model

Claude Warren’s talk at DevWorld 2024 introduced the idea of the coffeehouse as another metaphor. It’s not as rigid as a cathedral, but also not as unpredictable as a bazaar. It’s more about conversations—places where people share ideas, build trust, and learn from each other.

That really resonated with me. Some of the best ideas on our team have come from casual conversations—not necessarily from planned meetings or pull requests, but just from bouncing ideas off each other in a relaxed setting. The coffeehouse is where real collaboration seems to happen.

A Look at Some OSPOs

Google

Google has one of the largest Open Source Program Offices (OSPOs) out there. Beyond maintaining their own projects, they run programs like Google Summer of Code and Season of Docs, which bring new contributors into open source and help projects get the support they need. Their OSPO seems focused on growing ecosystems, not just maintaining code.

Red Hat

Red Hat’s OSPO is closely tied to their identity as an open-source-first company. On their GitHub page, you can find everything from teaching materials to UI templates. People like Jason Brooks and Justin Wheeler seem to work on a wide range of community-facing resources that help both inside and outside Red Hat.

Why OSPOs Matter

From what I’ve seen, OSPOs play a behind-the-scenes but essential role. They help companies contribute to open source in a sustainable way—making sure projects are supported, licenses are handled properly, and employees know how to engage with the open-source community.

But they also act as facilitators. They create spaces where people from different backgrounds—engineers, writers, contributors—can connect. In a way, OSPOs are like the coffeehouses Claude Warren described: part structure, part community, and full of ideas.