In a press release earlier today, the Free Standards Group (FSG), a not-for-profit organization that develops and promotes open source software standards, announced Debian founder Ian Murdock has been appointed its chief technology officer and elected chair of the Linux Standard Base workgroup.

As Linux Standard Base (LSB) workgroup chair, Murdock will assume the leadership role immediately and will oversee the upcoming LSB 3.1 specifications, which add desktop functionality to the ISO standard LSB core, as well as lead development of a roadmap for LSB 4.0+.

Prior to joining the FSG, Ian Murdock was a longtime Linux user, developer and open-source advocate, and in 1993 he founded the Debian project. Now, Debian has evolved into one of the most popular and influential Linux distributions in the world. Murdock was also a founding member of Linux International and the Open Source Initiative, as well as a central contributor to the original Linux File Hierarchy Standard, precursor to the LSB.

“Very quickly in my experience with Debian, I knew a standardized Linux was absolutely imperative to growing the Linux marketplace,” said Murdock. “Developers need a simple way to target Linux, distribution vendors need a core base of functionality to differentiate on top of, and end users need choice and assurance.

The Free Standards Group and the Linux Standard Base is the best hope for achieving these goals: it has the momentum, the member support and the community. I will do everything I can to strengthen Linux around a vendor-neutral, open standard that will increase the Linux market for all community participants.”