As you know, Metakit is open source software. It has evolved and grown as an independent product over a period of 7 years now, the second half of which in open source form, using the liberal X11/MIT open source license.
As you may or may not know, my company also offers a commercial "Metakit Enterprise License" for those who require a more formal level of support (one year at a time) and for those who wish to support me and my work on Metakit to make it a sustainable activity. See http://www.equi4.com/metakit/license.html
I am pleased to report that the number of Enterprise License customers is increasing, with a few particularly loyal customers renewing the license on a yearly basis.
But at the same time, I see an alarming trend. There are *several* major companies by now, which have based some of their commercial offerings heavily on Metakit, yet who have not - for quite some time in some cases - taken the step to purchase an Enterprise License. I am willing to assume that this is because I do not tend to make a fuss about that side of things - the option may not even be known to some.
The "Prisoner's Dilemma" insight, which comes from game theory, illustrates how it is very logical for parties to leave cost issues up to others, i.e. "if others pay, why stick my neck out?", and "if they are not paying, why should I?".
Unfortunately, in the case of MK, theory and practice need to be in sync. Like most mortals on this planet, "food on the table" as well as "financial reward" are very real concepts to me.
I have chosen the path of making Metakit open source, and sharing inordinate amounts of my time with others, on the basis that commercial projects are what will keep me going, while MK (and the derived Tclkit project) are "spin-offs". And they are, and it works (yes, trust me, it does!). Equi4 Software has allowed me to be independent for almost 14 years by now, and I see no reason why that could not last. As I have said a few times in the past, independence is more than not having a boss: it also is a crucial foundation for thinking outside the box.
But there is an inequality which worries me. Some highly commercial companies, for which the cost of a Metakit Enterprise License is almost too low to take seriously, are relying on Metakit, its data structures, and most importantly: the data of their customers. They make their business model work using open source, yet do not "give back" or "do the right thing".
The reason this concerns me is not what you probably think. I'm not talking about my bottom line, or having a hard time making a living (though I've seen better years, yes). The problem is the future of my work. I am currently working on a number of new implementation ideas, which take some of the lessons and experiences learned from Metakit *way* further. That means I'm contemplating moving away more from paid contract work, and focusing almost exclusively on design, architecture, and algorithms. Having a more independent level of funding would free me more to work on such things.
And share them, as I *very* much would like to.
But to do so, I urge those of you who have incorporated Metakit into your commercial products, or plan to do so, to broaden your perspective and think ahead just a bit further. Without a certain level of financial support, I will be forced to reconsider the proprietary option. I'm not saying this lightly.
FWIW, I strongly believe in the strength of open source software - and the quality benefits it brings to everyone involved. For something as fundamental as long-lived data storage, it's more than a nice ideology - it's crucial IMO.
It's hard for me as techie to refrain from talking about the ideas themselves here, I can assure you. All I'll say for now is: you ain't seen nothin' yet, the data concepts which lie underneath Metakit are in their infancy. I'm talking orders of magnitude in both performance and scalability, and with today's CPU architectures the trade-offs are in fact getting more and more in favor of MK's approach. With your help, we can sit on the same side of the table and have a shared interest. Please don't force me to work in secrecy.
-jcw
_______________________________________________ metakit mailing list - [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.equi4.com/mailman/listinfo/metakit
