Intersubjectivity in Open Source Software Development: Expansive Grounding in Distributed Work

In this paper we address intersubjectivity, which is of particular relevance to those who wish to understand how learning is produced within complex group work. A conceptual framework for intersubjectivity is developed based on a review of past research with a starting point in the work of Rommetveit, a Norwegian social psychologist. The framework is applied to the analysis of a mature open source software project (mod_perl module of Apache Web server) with a focus on how the ‘tacit’ or otherwise hidden information in the central and peripheral regions of the developer network may contribute to understanding intersubjectivity as an expansive process. Based on observation of 215 participants’ contributions on the project’s mailing list over a period of 6 months, we explore how processes of intersubjectivity evolve around shared objects of development. We conclude with a discussion of how vague and imprecise utterances in postand reply messages may be significant and trigger the co-construction of shared understandings across the developer network.