Al,
It appears you're arguing against the success of companies like Red Hat,
JBoss, and Novell - who all maintain open source software and offer it
for free.
If I developed a vertical application, I wouldn't hesitate to contribute
it back to the project. Why should I pay a staff of programmers to
maintain it when a community of volunteers is willing to do it for free?
I'd rather focus my resources on installation, training, and support.
-Adrian
Al Byers wrote:
I don't think it is realistic to expect anyone to contribute a quality
add-on back to the project and maintain it. All of us that work (or
have worked) on the project do so because it contributes financially
to us in other ways.
If someone was to create a commercially viable add-on, then I think
the smart thing to do would be to contribute back a "community"
version that captures the essence of the customizations needed for
that niche, but reserves a lot of the value added that comes from
being experienced in that field for a commercial version. The
commercial version could also include support.
-Al
