On Sun, 11 Jun 2006, Bryce Harrington wrote: > > But the whole idea of open source is that it is open _to users_. With > few exceptions, most open source developers are really just users that > got very passionate and curious. ;-) > > Thus the OSS development model works when users go beyond being mere > beneficiaries and get involved in development. It can often be hard for > users to recognize that they are so important, and have such > responsibility, because they are so accustomed to the old model. But > they soon find that it is extremely empowering when they can solve their > own problem, and in doing so, solve the problem for many other people > like them. I don't think this is an issue that is just hard to get used to for the users. A lot of _developers_ seem to have a lot of trouble recognizing how important users are. I have multiple times seen open source projects that effectively say "if you're not a developer, your opinion doesn't matter". Even if a user never makes it to the point where he sends in a patch (and thus becomes a developer, even if on possibly a very small scale), users are important because they end up having ideas and opinions that are not coloured by the implementation (which often means that the ideas are insane, but on the other hand it can also show where there were problems), and because the only effective way to eventually get to a developer is for that person to be a user first. It's true that only a very small fraction of all users become "useful" developers, and some people will argue that that makes users less worthwhile. I'll personally argue that it means that you want to have tons and tons of users, so that that "very small fraction" actually ends up resulting in a new developer or two. I wish fewer projects were "ivory tower", but I've seen too much of "theory matters more than practice". Yeah, yeah, I'm sure I've done that myself too, but at least I try to be aware of it. Some people seem to _revel_ in the whole "I'm a developer, and developers are special" mindset. Linus
"Yesterday I couldn't spell developer. Today I are one." - paraphrase of a popular T-Shirt work by Nuclear Engineers in the US Navy.
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Jonathon M. Robison 311 First St. Fenton, MI 48430 |
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