Self-organization versus hierarchy in open-source social networks

Complex networks emerge under different conditions including design (i.e., top-down decisions) through simple rules of growth and evolution. Such rules are typically local when dealing with biological systems and most social webs. An important deviation from such a scenario is provided by groups, collectives of agents engaged in technology development, such as open-source communities. Here we analyze their network structure, showing that it defines a complex weighted network with scaling laws at different levels, as measured by looking at e-mail exchanges. We also present a simple model of network growth involving nonlocal rules based on betweenness centrality. Our weighted network analysis suggests that a well-defined interplay between the overall goals of the community and the underlying hierarchical organization play a key role in shaping its dynamics.