> however, the benefits of open source > is that the code is still available, always will be, and you > are free to do with it as you will.
Of course, I understand that is one of the benefits. But how many developers want the job of maintaining Avalon (or any other complex piece of open source) when they don't feel the current directions the source is taking fills their needs? Hence, the liability remains. > Anyone familiar with > development in a corporate setting will understand that > internal struggles are not unique to open source. In those > cases it is just behind closed doors. Of course. But what is often lacking in open source is the discipline imposed on commercial software via good old fashion capitalism. I have heard a million times that "Open Source is free as in speech not beer" but the reality is that most open source is "free as in beer". This causes several problems. When you accept something free and it changes out from under you, what do you do? What rights do you have as a customer? Afterall you did not pay anything? I think that in the back of the *some* open source developers minds this is exactly what justfies their doing what they want and not what the market is asking for, because there is no market in the traditional sense. I belive in open source and support open source so please don't flame me! But I also belive as strongly in economic principles, capitalism and the power econmics has to correct mistakes made by groups that provide a product like software. Afterall, it may hurt a little to be flammed but it hurts a lot when your revenue stream dries up because you did not listen to your customers. So keep it free as in speech but charge for the beer. This is the direction I think opens source needs to be moving lest it undermine itself in the long haul. > > Again, I apologize for any concerns this has caused within > the user community. Please know that supporting users is a > chief issue within all the discussions currently taking place. > > J. Aaron Farr > SONY ELECTRONICS > STP SYSTEMS > (724) 696-7653 > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
