The question is what to do to make things better?
Problem - OOo is suffereng a number of the downsides of large bureaucracies
Solution(s) ?
I think that diagnosing the problem is an important start. That might seems like complaining, and some people might use the resemblance to dismiss the discussion. Yet it's am important step.
Bureaucracy is one problem, I agree
I'd also suggest that the way responsibility is distributed needs to be overhauled. In particular, I think decisions are being made purely from a technical viewpoint that need a broader perspective.. In many places in the FOSS community, OOo is not well-regarded. It's seen as a potentially important project in the FOSS community, but it's also seen as one that's not living up to its responsibilites to the larger community. For example, version 2.0's increased reliance on Java angers many pockets of the FOSS community, because Java isn't open source. It also means that a lot of redistributors - such as the distributions - need to do a lot of work to get around that problem. Unsurprisingly, people don't like to do extra work.
Then, of course, the relation with Sun is a two-edged sword, too. Obviously, OOo wouldn't be where it is without Sun. However, at the same time, the relation increases the distrust in many circles. I doubt that the relation is going to change, but the issue needs to be addressed from a PR viewpoint more.
I wouldn't be greatly surprised to see a fork in the Project in the next year or two unless these problems were addressed and at least partly surmounted. I hope not, because I think that would only slow development, and make everyone worse off. Yet I can see it happening.
-- Bruce Byfield 604-421-7177 http://members.axion.net/~bbyfield
