There have been some side discussions on this topic. I'd like to collect these ideas into one thread.
My observations: 1) The OpenOffice code base has a reputation of being complex, hard to understand, even "haunted". It is difficult for new developers to get involved with it. 2) We get regular offers of help from new volunteers for other project functions, such documentation, QA, website,etc., but we are not doing a great job getting them to be successful contributors in the project. 3) Nothing is free. Making the code easier to understand, or mentoring new contributors to the project, these things time and effort. So there is a natural trade-off between short term progress on features and long term growing of the contributor base. With AOO 3.4 we have biases the effort toward forward progress on the release. Post AOO 3.4 we might want to adjust to a more balanced approach. Any ideas and the best ways how we can improve in this area after AOO 3.4 releases? -Rob
