Its an interesting situation when an asset (like an open source project) is run by a team of volunteers (community)... but due to licensing, it kind of belongs to the whole world (community)

As a user of a project, I DO have a voice... but unless I am actively contributing (money, time, resources), then my voice has a different weight.

On the one hand, I don't like the idea that anyone should get more influence simply because they pay money... or that anyone should have more power just because they are active in the project. Both of those situations are possible paths for corruption or abuse of power.

On the other hand, the tragedy of the commons is a real thing. People who take, never give back, and then have the audacity to not only ask but demand things... well, that makes me angry.

I've moved from being an idealist to a realist, when it comes to open source. I think the evolving models we are seeing that restrict commercial competition are sometimes pretty good (overall), and the rise in COSS is a positive sign. We need to ensure that good projects have a way to sustain themselves.

The best projects have people (or even teams) who are focused on bringing new people in and helping them contribute. Not everyone can do that, but I think finding ways to enable people to contribute (money, time, etc) is an important part of building the community.

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blenderob 6 hours ago | parent [-]

(edit: I totally misunderstood the parent comment and wrote this reply. I've apologized for it in comment below. I could delete this comment but I am leaving it here so that others don't get confused when they see the replies below it.)

> or that anyone should have more power just because they are active in the project.

So you are saying that although I create a project to solve my problems but as soon as I make it open source (so that others can also benefit) my power on the project will become equal to the power every random person on earth has on my project?

If making my project reduces my power on the project, why would I ever open source anything?

Good thing that open source world does not work like that. When I make my project open source, I still have full power on my project and I decide what goes in it and what is rejected. I have no reason to not use the powers I have on the project.

If it ever became like you say that as the creator of an open source project, my powers will be equal to the powers of every random user, I'd stop making anything open source.

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hinkley an hour ago | parent | next [-]

> If making my project reduces my power on the project, why would I ever open source anything?

For me, especially when I'm increasing the bus number of something I worked on at work, it's down to two things. Either I'm hoping that my 'power' will remain the same but the 'power' of the project will grow and the new people will take their share out of the surplus.

Or, I want to focus my power elsewhere, and as long as I'm sole proprietor to this project I will be associated with it to the exclusion of other things. It was having my face pressed against glass of shiny new things I was iced out of at work that finally taught me the value of sharing. Indispensable can make you typecast. Deputizing someone has benefits that usually outweigh the costs.

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rlnorthcutt 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Straw man + slippery slope.

I never said that, or implied it. It would be dumb to say that someone who creates an open source project is at the mercy of the people who use it.

But, many people have had the experience of dealing with loud voices in open source communities, and sometimes abusive voices. Or people who are pushing/promoting things that they want but are actually contrary to the goals and well being of the project.

As I stated, that power is a potential route to abuse. This is absolutely true whether the person is a maintainer, contributor, or creator.

If you create an open source project, of course you have absolute power over it... to suggest otherwise is foolish.

And we have seen projects that fail or collapse due to lack of leadership, corrosive culture, myopia, or burnout. That is inevitable.

My point is that we need to be realistic about these things. This goes back to the original post that "open source is not about you". Users aren't "owe" anything by a project or its creator. At the same time, creators/maintainers have a relationship with the community.

How they choose to manage that relationship is their choice... but we should be aware and honest about what that means and how it impacts the project (and the community).

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blenderob 5 hours ago | parent [-]

Yes, totally fair. I totally misunderstood your original comment. My bad and my apologies!

	▲	rlnorthcutt 4 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Wow - I really appreciate you taking the time to look at it again. My original comment was written quickly, and probably no where near as clear as it could have been. I respect your willingness to modify your original stance upon closer examination. Non-ironic hat tip.