RE: Open Source

["Jonathan Shore" <jshore@example.com>]

> From: Stephen J. Turnbull [mailto:turnbull@example.com]

>     Jonathan> Managing a distributed Open Source project is hard
> 
> But nobody is suggesting that.  "If you love something, set it free.
> If you're lucky, it will mature, move to Timbuktu, and never need your
> support again.  If it comes back wanting money, call the police."  :-)

The point was - for something small and tactical that needs to be done,  the
cost of setting up, administrating - or alternatively starting something and
hoping that someone else out there takes it over - can be too large. 

One would have to manage the project if you want to be certain that your
goals are achieved and that they are achieved according to the priorities
that you have.  This is hard work, requires time to get people involved, and
will be difficult to control. 

For a commercial entity its goals have to be:

  * first, survival, then success

  * achieving goals in a timely fashion

  * optimizing operations

This is basic and I'm sure you know this.  If the above involves developing
software, in many cases a distributed open-source approach might be the
optimial strategy long term (not to mention giving back to the community).
In other cases it is not at all viable - for reasons stated earlier.


> If you're very lucky, somebody may grab the ball and run that
> distributed open source project for you, and you'll get the benefits.
> Apache and the Solaris-cum-Linux-driver situations are instructive
> examples, although they originated in the open source communities and
> the corporations latched on later.

That's all well and good if you have the time to go this route.


> 
> Sure, people bitch about cathedral-model projects, and projects that
> don't provide support.  So?  These people are not paying customers;
> how much can it hurt?

I agree - there is no sense in complaining about support for open source
(I'm not).  However, for a commercial entity they *must* do what is in the
best interests of the company.  If they can include the best interests of
the community at the same time all the better.

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