"Joseph N." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
[EMAIL PROTECTED]">news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]...
>
> I have a question about how Mozilla.org manages to combine open
> source with controlled development of the primary products.
>
> If the code is freely available, what keeps someone from developing
> an alternative browser based on the same code? It's my understanding
> that the rights to the code are spread out over so many people that
> copyright law does not really control the issue.
Nothing keeps someone from developing another
browser based on Mozilla's code. In fact, that's
what Mozilla is *for*...Netscape 6, Beonex, Galeon,
and other browsers are all packaged versions of
Mozilla. The binaries that Mozilla provides are for
testing, not for use by end-users uninterested in
the development (which is why requests that Mozilla
provide the binaries "with the debug junk disabled"
fall on deaf ears). The end-user distributions provide
tech support, branding/distinctive themes, and
sometimes additional features.
