Open Source Trivia
Open Source trivia explores the collaborative software movement that grew from hacker culture and free-software ideals into a global force in computing. Expect factual, approachable questions spanning classic projects, influential contributors, and the funny, surprising milestones behind code shared for anyone to use, study, and improve.
Easy Open Source Trivia
13 questions
These easy Open Source trivia questions are great for beginners and kids around age 12 and under.
Question 1
In what year was the GNU Project announced by Richard Stallman?
- A.1991
- B.1983
- C.1979
- D.1987
Answer: 1983
Richard Stallman announced the GNU Project in 1983.
Question 2
Which project did Richard Stallman announce in 1983?
- A.GNU Project
- B.Linux kernel
- C.Firefox
- D.OpenStreetMap
Answer: The GNU Project
The fact states that Richard Stallman announced the GNU Project in 1983.
Question 3
Linus Torvalds first released which kernel in 1991?
- A.Apache HTTP Server
- B.PostgreSQL
- C.Linux kernel
- D.GNU kernel
Answer: The Linux kernel
Linus Torvalds first released the Linux kernel in 1991.
Question 4
What kind of system is Git?
- A.A web browser
- B.A relational database
- C.An audio editor
- D.Distributed version control system
Answer: A distributed version control system
Git is a distributed version control system.
Question 5
Which browser is developed by Mozilla?
- A.Firefox
- B.GIMP
- C.NGINX
- D.Jenkins
Answer: Firefox
Firefox is a web browser developed by Mozilla.
Question 6
Apache HTTP Server is best described as what?
- A.A text editor
- B.An animation suite
- C.A map project
- D.Web server program
Answer: A web server program
Apache HTTP Server is a web server program.
Question 7
Which license is known as a permissive software license: MIT License or GNU General Public License?
- A.MIT License
- B.GNU General Public License
- C.Apache HTTP Server
- D.PostgreSQL
Answer: MIT License
The MIT License is a permissive software license.
Question 8
True or false: BSD licenses are generally considered permissive.?
Answer: True
BSD licenses are generally considered permissive.
Question 9
The GNU General Public License is what type of software license?
- A.A database license
- B.Copyleft license
- C.A permissive software license
- D.A web server license
Answer: A copyleft software license
The GNU General Public License is a copyleft software license.
Question 10
Which project is a collaborative world map with openly usable geographic data?
- A.Blender
- B.Redis
- C.OpenStreetMap
- D.Firefox
Answer: OpenStreetMap
OpenStreetMap is a collaborative world map project with openly usable geographic data.
Question 11
If a team wants a widely used tool for continuous integration, which open source project fits that description?
- A.Vim
- B.Jenkins
- C.Audacity
- D.GIMP
Answer: Jenkins
Jenkins is widely used for continuous integration.
Question 12
Which program is used for 3D modeling and animation?
- A.PostgreSQL
- B.Git
- C.Blender
- D.Audacity
Answer: Blender
Blender is used for 3D modeling and animation.
Question 13
Need to edit a photo pixel by pixel? Which program here is primarily for raster image editing?
Answer: GIMP
GIMP is primarily used for raster image editing.
Open Source Family Trivia
12 questions
These family Open Source trivia questions are built for mixed-age game nights, classrooms, and groups.
Question 1
In what year was the Free Software Foundation founded?
Answer: 1985
The Free Software Foundation was founded in 1985.
Question 2
Which city is home to the headquarters of the Free Software Foundation?
- A.France
- B.Finland
- C.Boston, Massachusetts
- D.San Francisco, California
Answer: Boston, Massachusetts
The Free Software Foundation is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.
Question 3
True or false: The Open Source Initiative was co-founded in 1998.?
Answer: True
The Open Source Initiative was co-founded in 1998.
Question 4
What was first published in 1998: the Open Source Definition or Firefox 1.0?
- A.Firefox 1.0
- B.Ubuntu
- C.LibreOffice
- D.Open Source Definition
Answer: The Open Source Definition
The Open Source Definition was first published in 1998.
Question 5
Bruce Perens helped write which important open source guide?
Answer: The Open Source Definition
Bruce Perens was one of the original authors of the Open Source Definition.
Question 6
Who founded Debian in 1993?
- A.Richard Stallman
- B.Yukihiro Matsumoto
- C.Matt Mullenweg
- D.Ian Murdock
Answer: Ian Murdock
Debian was founded by Ian Murdock in 1993.
Question 7
What website platform was first released in 2003?
- A.WordPress
- B.Ubuntu
- C.LibreOffice
- D.Firefox 1.0
Answer: WordPress
WordPress was first released in 2003.
Question 8
Which co-founder is linked to WordPress?
- A.Bruce Perens
- B.Ian Murdock
- C.Richard Stallman
- D.Matt Mullenweg
Answer: Matt Mullenweg
Matt Mullenweg is a co-founder of WordPress.
Question 9
In what year was the Apache Software Foundation established?
Answer: 1999
The Apache Software Foundation was established in 1999.
Question 10
The Linux Foundation is based in which U.S. city?
- A.Tokyo
- B.Paris
- C.San Francisco
- D.Boston
Answer: San Francisco
The Linux Foundation is based in San Francisco, California.
Question 11
Linux originally came from which country?
- A.Lionsgate Television
- B.Finland
- C.20th Television
Answer: Finland
Linux originated in Finland.
Question 12
Ruby was created in which country?
- A.United States
- B.Japan
- C.Finland
- D.France
Answer: Japan
Ruby was created in Japan.
Fun Open Source Trivia
13 questions
These fun Open Source trivia questions highlight surprising moments and playful facts for game-night groups.
Question 1
Who created Git in 2005, giving developers a version-control tool that became basically unavoidable?
Answer: Linus Torvalds created Git in 2005.
Git was created by Linus Torvalds in 2005.
Question 2
What does the famously recursive name GNU expand to?
- A.General Network Utility
- B.Graphical New Unix
- C.Global Unix Node
- D.Not Unix
Answer: GNU expands to "GNU's Not Unix."
GNU is a recursive acronym for "GNU's Not Unix.".
Question 3
If Vim introduced itself formally instead of modestly, what would its name expand to?
Answer: Vim stands for "Vi IMproved."
The name Vim expands to "Vi IMproved.".
Question 4
Which major compiler hit its first release in 1987?
Answer: GCC was first released in 1987.
The first version of GCC was released in 1987.
Question 5
Which desktop environment was announced in 1996?
Answer: KDE was announced in 1996.
KDE was announced in 1996.
Question 6
Which desktop environment first released in 1999, a few years after KDE’s announcement?
Answer: GNOME was first released in 1999.
GNOME was first released in 1999.
Question 7
MySQL AB was founded in which country?
- A.Denmark
- B.Sweden
- C.Finland
- D.Germany
Answer: MySQL AB was founded in Sweden.
MySQL AB was founded in Sweden.
Question 8
Which database was created in 2009 as a fork of MySQL?
Answer: MariaDB was created by a fork of MySQL in 2009.
MariaDB was created by a fork of MySQL in 2009.
Question 9
Which lightweight database first released in 2000?
Answer: SQLite was first released in 2000.
SQLite was first released in 2000.
Question 10
What is the name of PostgreSQL’s elephant mascot?
Answer: PostgreSQL’s elephant mascot is named Slonik.
The mascot of PostgreSQL is an elephant named Slonik.
Question 11
Which project proudly goes with a pufferfish mascot?
Answer: OpenBSD uses a pufferfish as its mascot.
OpenBSD uses a pufferfish is its mascot.
Question 12
Debian release names come from characters in what film series?
Answer: Debian release names come from characters in the Toy Story films.
The Debian project names releases after characters from Toy Story films.
Question 13
If someone says they’re running Ubuntu 'Jammy Jellyfish,' which version are they talking about?
Answer: "Jammy Jellyfish" refers to Ubuntu version 22.04.
The Ubuntu release name "Jammy Jellyfish" refers to version 22.04.
Funny Open Source Trivia
13 questions
These funny Open Source trivia questions highlight playful moments, odd facts, and inside jokes.
Question 1
Which red cartoon daemon has been cheerfully haunting BSD as its mascot?
- A.Beastie
- B.Tux
- C.Dino
- D.Bullseye
Answer: Beastie
BSD’s mascot is the red cartoon daemon named Beastie.
Question 2
Before PHP became a familiar web scripting name, what did PHP originally stand for?
- A.Personal Home Page
- B.Private Hypertext Processor
- C.Public Hosting Platform
- D.Personal Hyperlink Parser
Answer: Personal Home Page
PHP originally stood for “Personal Home Page.”.
Question 3
Larry Wall picked what gemstone-sounding name for his programming language released in 1987?
- A.Ruby
- B.Tcl
- C.Lua
- D.Perl
Answer: Perl
Larry Wall chose the name Perl for his programming language released in 1987.
Question 4
Mozilla’s dinosaur mascot keeps it simple. What is the dinosaur actually named?
- A.Rex
- B.Mozzy
- C.Gecko
- D.Dino
Answer: Dino
Mozilla’s dinosaur mascot is named Dino.
Question 5
Which open-source project has promoted releases with songs, because plain release notes apparently weren’t dramatic enough?
- A.Mozilla
- B.PHP
- C.OpenBSD
- D.Debian
Answer: OpenBSD
The OpenBSD project has used songs in its release campaigns.
Question 6
What’s the term for the very brave act of using your own software internally?
- A.forking
- B.grepping
- C.dogfooding
- D.sandboxing
Answer: dogfooding
Dogfooding means using your own software product internally.
Question 7
The command name grep comes from which older ed command pattern?
- A.g/re/p
- B.g/rep/o
- C.gr/e/p
- D.go/rep
Answer: g/re/p
The name grep comes from the ed command “g/re/p.”.
Question 8
awk sounds like a keyboard sneeze, but its name actually comes from whose surnames?
- A.Allen, Wirth, and Knuth
- B.Atkinson, Wall, and Kernighan
- C.Aho, Wozniak, and Kildall
- D.Aho, Weinberger, and Kernighan
Answer: Aho, Weinberger, and Kernighan
The command name awk comes from the surnames Aho, Weinberger, and Kernighan.
Question 9
In programming examples, which classic placeholder name shows up like an uninvited but traditional guest?
- A.helloworld
- B.tempname
- C.foobar
- D.bazqux
Answer: foobar
“Foobar” is a traditional placeholder name in programming examples.
Question 10
APT may sound brisk and efficient because it is. What does APT expand to?
- A.Advanced Package Tool
- B.Automated Package Terminal
- C.Advanced Program Transfer
- D.Applied Package Tracker
Answer: Advanced Package Tool
APT expands to Advanced Package Tool.
Question 11
Debian 12 sounds less like an operating system and more like a book club member. What is its release name?
- A.Bullseye
- B.Buster
- C.Focal Fossa
- D.Bookworm
Answer: Bookworm
The release name of Debian 12 is Bookworm.
Question 12
Ubuntu 20.04 picked an alliterative animal codename. Which one?
- A.Xenial Xerus
- B.Bookworm
- C.Focal Fossa
- D.Bionic Beaver
Answer: Focal Fossa
Ubuntu 20.04 is named Focal Fossa.
Question 13
Which Ubuntu release name belongs to version 18.04: Bionic Beaver or Xenial Xerus?
- A.Focal Fossa
- B.Bullseye
- C.Bionic Beaver
- D.Xenial Xerus
Answer: Bionic Beaver
Ubuntu 18.04 is named Bionic Beaver.
Hard Open Source Trivia
14 questions
These hard Open Source trivia questions are for expert fans who want a real challenge.
Question 1
At the 1998 strategy meeting where the phrase gained traction, in what California city was that gathering held?
Answer: Palo Alto
The term "open source" was promoted at a strategy meeting in Palo Alto in 1998.
Question 2
Who is widely credited with suggesting the term "open source" in 1998?
Answer: Christine Peterson
Christine Peterson is the person widely credited with suggesting the term in 1998.
Question 3
Which company made a pivotal 1998 move by releasing the source code for its browser?
Answer: Netscape
Netscape is the company that released its browser source code in 1998.
Question 4
What organization was founded in 1998 specifically to coordinate the open-source Netscape codebase?
Answer: Mozilla Organization
Mozilla Organization was founded in 1998 to coordinate the open-source Netscape codebase.
Question 5
Which Mozilla leader is noted for having held top leadership roles at Mozilla?
Answer: Mitchell Baker
The listed fact names Mitchell Baker is having held top leadership roles at Mozilla.
Question 6
From 2010 to 2012, who served as president of the Open Source Initiative?
Answer: Simon Phipps
Simon Phipps served is OSI president from 2010 to 2012.
Question 7
Which open-source advocate served as chair of the Open Source Initiative board?
Answer: Van Lindberg
Van Lindberg is the person listed is serving as chair of the Open Source Initiative board.
Question 8
Who held the role of president of Mozilla Europe?
Answer: Tristan Nitot
Tristan Nitot is president of Mozilla Europe.
Question 9
Berkeley Software Distribution originated at which university?
Answer: University of California, Berkeley
BSD began at the University of California, Berkeley.
Question 10
In what year did the first Berkeley Software Distribution release appear?
Answer: 1978
The first BSD release appeared in 1978 .
Question 11
Ian Murdock wrote which foundational Debian text in 1994?
Answer: Debian Manifesto
Ian Murdock wrote the Debian Manifesto in 1994.
Question 12
Which license had version 1.0 approved by the Open Source Initiative in 1999?
Answer: Apple Public Source License
OSI approved version 1.0 of the Apple Public Source License in 1999.
Question 13
The Open Source Initiative approved what license in 2004: the one abbreviated CDDL?
Answer: Common Development and Distribution License
The Common Development and Distribution License was approved by OSI in 2004.
Question 14
Which license was first published in 2002, adding a network-use angle to the open-source license conversation?
Answer: Affero General Public License
The Affero General Public License was first published in 2002.
Download PDF
Get the generated PDF file for printing, classroom rounds, or offline use.
Download printable trivia PDF