At the same time, open initiatives must confront real and serious challenges
to their ability to sustain themselves over time. While building broad
communities of motivated individuals can unleash creative contributions, these
are difficult to sustain over time. Attracting and retaining contributors, preventing
co-option of the innovation agenda, and covering the fixed costs of innovation
all represent non-trivial managerial headaches. As noted, even the most
celebrated example of openness, the Linux kernel, now confronts significant
changes that may threaten its ability to remain open.
These issues of sustainability bring us back to traditional