Eric S. Raymond (aka ESR) is an American software developer, writer, and open source advocate, best known for his influential role in shaping the philosophy and terminology of the open source movement. Born in 1957, Raymond rose to prominence in the 1990s as both a programmer and a thinker, bridging the gap between software development, cultural analysis, and community organization.

Raymond was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and later studied mathematics before moving into computer science and programming. He was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at birth, which affected his speech and movement but did not deter him from pursuing a career in technology and writing. His intellectual curiosity led him to explore not only programming but also linguistics, science fiction, and hacker culture.

Raymond’s most significant impact came through his essays and writings that articulated the values and practices of the hacker and open source communities. His 1997 essay, “The Cathedral and the Bazaar,” remains one of the most cited works in the history of software development. In it, he compared two different styles of software creation: the cathedral model, where software is built in a centralized, closed manner, and the bazaar model, where development is open, decentralized, and collaborative.

This essay played a major role in legitimizing open source software to the business world and helped convince companies that collaborative development could be more efficient and innovative than traditional proprietary models.

In 1998, Raymond also co-founded the Open Source Initiative (OSI), alongside Bruce Perens. The OSI provided a framework for defining and promoting “open source” as a business-friendly term distinct from the more politically loaded “free software” promoted by Richard Stallman and the Free Software Foundation.

Software Contributions

Fetchmail: An email retrieval and forwarding utility.
Jargon File: A comprehensive and humorous glossary of hacker slang, which Raymond maintained and published as The New Hacker’s Dictionary.
And many more

Eric S. Raymond stands as a key figure in the cultural and technical history of software. His ability to explain, defend, and promote the values of open collaboration has left a lasting mark on both the hacker community and the global tech industry.