[advocacy-discuss] Corporate Open Source

[Ben Rockwood]

Rafael Vanoni wrote:
> I don't know if the sole reason for low contributions is not having the 
> gate out yet. That adds to it, but I think we still have ways to go in 
> terms of getting developers in our code. I'm confident that 
> OpenSolaris2008.05 will have a very positive impact here, as I believe 
> having a solid distribution will bridge a huge gap.
>   


Contribution is low because adoption is low.  I'm sure if you looked at 
Linux/GNU developers as a percentage of the total user base we'd be 
pretty close.

Adoption is low for a variety of reasons, one of which is continued 
uncertainty about where this is all going.  The community has grown both 
intra- and extra- SMI, however the communication has slowed to a 
trickle.  Even from an advocacy standpoint, last year we coordinated 
events like CommunityOne here in this community, this year it was an 
entirely corporate event, for example.  Sun has gone from involving the 
community in the process to making decisions on behalf of the community, 
it started with the trademark issue and continues steadily worse, and 
with the current OGB its not going to be fixed but rather solidified.

I'm sorry, I don't like being negative, but I've repeatedly raised flags 
about this slide and those warnings went unheeded.   The reality is, if 
you want to _really_ know whats happening with OpenSolaris you need to 
go work for Sun, transparency has been shot to hell.

The OpenSolaris(tm) distro will turn things around because it will bring 
in a large influx of new people with little to no expectation or 
history, that should put things back on an uptick.  That will put the 
responsibility squarely on Advocacy and Docs to bring new users in and 
make them successful quickly, restoring some of the communication we had 
with Sara, et al, to coordinate efforts inside and out will help that 
process.

benr.