On 10/20/05, Douglas J. Trainor wrote: > Thank you Derek Keats. > > I do believe that based on what I've seen, Keats trumps Heeks and that > Heeks conclusions are rubbish. The original posting by Heeks seems to > be a prime example of FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) [Reference 1]. > I'd like to see the data that Heeks refers to so I can look at the data > collection methodology. >
As it happens I don't agree with Richard Heeks' conclusions either. I do think however the issues he has raised about the evangelical character of much of the FLOSS argument are more than valid. There is, across all platforms and applications, a huge problem of communications bewtween software developers and end users. If the former are convinced they are in the right - because of the ideological purity of their product - then listening and proper communication is dead in the water. My view is that FLOSS is being successful in technician to technician markets such as operating systems and server software. As a FLOSS advocate, I think it has been tragically slow to develop in the field of intelligent application software. I ascribe this to a failure to develop a user- led development model and a related failure to communicate with a non- technical audience. Thus the attitudes Heeks describes are at least part of the problem and dismissing his research by attacking him is hardly the most sensitive way of responding to criticisms of arrogance. Love and struggle Mike Powell ------------ ***GKD is solely supported by EDC, a Non-Profit Organization*** To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd Archives of previous GKD messages can be found at: <http://www.edc.org/GLG/gkd/>
