If you don’t know who Eric Raymond is, you’d better read this…

Open-source leader steps aside at industry group

The Open Source Initiative says that it has reorganized in an effort to bring more structure to the open-source software movement and that co-founder Eric Raymond is stepping down from his position as president.

Raymond, one of the most visible and influential members of the open-source community, will continue to do outreach and “ambassadorial” work for the OSI, the organization that certifies open-source licenses.

Raymond is the author of “The Cathedral and the Bazaar,” a manifesto that helped crystallize the idea and commercial viability of freely available software.

The change occurred as San Francisco-based OSI said Monday that it intends to expand its activities in an effort to build up a larger network of open-source software providers and develop a more international perspective. Those new tasks will include defining open standards and principles of open-source and creating a registry of open-source software projects. The board will be expanded to include individuals from outside the United States.