The Open Source philosophy as applied to software development means that software is distributed freely and totally open for others to modify and improve as they wish, as long as the result is also made freely available.

The Mutch Surname website has grown to be an Open Source Genealogy project, where the hard work of a growing number of researchers is freely contributed. By sharing the information they have gathered they make it easier for others to make further links. The result is a growing awareness of the relationships between the various families living in the North-east of Scotland in the years prior to official central records being kept.

There remain many gaps, but each piece of new data or correction received increases our knowledge and helps build a better resource for future research.