Man, my head metaphorically hurts! LOL
Michael Jouravlev wrote:
Frank, let us not mix Struts and JSF. Struts was created by a bunch of
enthusiasts and was put up for grabs. Like it? Take it. Its license
allows you (metaphorical "you") to get the source code and run with
it. Don't like it? Change it. Why I (metaphorical "I") should fix bugs
and improve current code only because you (metaphorical "you") think
that I (metaphorical "I") *must* do that?
When you contribute, and when you accept a position as a leader in the
community, as any Struts committer does for instance, you accept a
certain degree of responsibility to the community. That is my point. I
do not for one second *expect anyone* to contribute, to fix bugs, etc.
I would hope many are inclined to do so for the health of the community,
but I do not expect it and would never require it of anyone. Arguably,
just using an open-source product infers a certain degree of communal
responsibility by the very nature of open-source, but I'm not quite that
much of a hippie and I don't buy into that theory fully :)
No, for me, the responsibility begins when you decide you want to
contribute, and it grows as you become more of a contributor and
therefor more of a leader in the community. This is my basic premise.
This also would seem to jive with basic sociological communal theory,
from what admittedly limited knowledge I have of it (I'll be sure to
bring it up with my brother-in-law next change I get... he has his
doctorate in Sociology).
As a real-world example, if you live in your neighborhood and keep to
yourself, maybe just use the neighborhood's playground occasionally, you
have very little, if any, responsibility to your neighbors. Keep the
noise down, keep your yard relatively clean, don't break the swing set
at the playground, etc. But it you join the community leadership group
voluntarily, have you not accepted a higher degree of responsibility to
the community? Do not the decisions you make have consequences for
others and therefore require greater consideration? How is any of that
any different from an open-source development community?
If our solutions solve other
people's problems too, that's great, but, for us, marketshare is not
the point of the exercise.
But it has *become* at least *part* of the exercise. Struts has. When
an open-source project gets to a certain level of acceptance, there
*has* to be a point where responsibility to others kicks in.
I don't think so. not Until zillions of buckazoids fall in my palms
(metaphorical "my"... to my regret). Nah.
I don't know what a buckazoid is, but it sounds like something I want to
have lots of! :)
Michael J.
Frank Z.
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