(Up to: Code Interfaces )

The big battle at the moment is whether open-source code is "morally" right or not, i.e. whether society is sustainable through private competition, or through openly collaborative efforts. Neither has yet to be proved, but that's another issue.

What is true, it seems, is that by putting code out into the open and letting anyone use and modify it, groups within society can take control over their own infrastructures. They can be self-reliant.

But this assumes one thing. That the skills within that community match the level as required by the code they are using. Simple, well-written, elegant code that is easier to read will benefit a community much more than difficult-to-comprehend code, as the barrier to understanding will mean more people have access to it. More people to maintain/modify/decide its future.

In this way, how code is written is very much like how an interface is designed. Documents are synonymous with help files, comments with tooltips and APIs with widgets. The more effort put into making sure people can pick up your code, the more chance there is of it succeeding.