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The CVS Cop-Out
NewsForge (also owned by VA) has a short piece attempting to call into focus one of the major complaints of end users, the "CVS cop-out". From the article: "One of my biggest pet peeves with open source software is what I call the CVS cop-out. It works like this: I criticize (accurately) some shortcoming of an open source application either in an article or in conversation, and someone responds with, 'That's not true! That feature was fixed in CVS four weeks ago!' [...] I bring up the CVS cop-out not because I have an answer for it, but to air it out. Sometimes, giving a problem a name helps to foster discussion that leads to resolution."
Actually people want software that works and someone to provide more support than "fix it yourself". Open source software sucks and the mentality of their developers sucks. They wouldn't last in a real company where they actually have to support the work they do. If you are going to do it for free then don't half-ass it, do it right the first time.
./Configure
I'm tired of coming across something that won't compile correctly or encountering a bug. Then when you research it you come across 100 posts of people asking the same question and getting the same response of fix it yourself or do a search the answer is already here. You know what? I've got a job that pays money, I'm not about to waste my time trying to learn the code base for a one off project that looked interesting. 9 times out of 10 I'll move on. If the answer already exists why hasn't it been incorporated into the source? Or looking for documentation and the only thing that exists is:
make
make install
Thats BS. Thats the reason the majority of open source developers are assholes and they get the bad rap that they do, because they deserve it 100%.
Thats the biggest reason open source doesn't work.
Why don't you pay them to listen to you whine about things you want them to do in their own spare time?
Why don't you fund their servers, pay for an admin, pay them to dictate what features you want?
When you do that then you are free to whine and bitch about it.
Until that point your just another user who exspects everything from people who dedicate their own free time to producing something in the hope it may be useful to others. You want daily builds? Get off your ass and do them yourself.
There are comments bandied around these parts about being "locked into MS" if you use their software.
Reading your comments above, it sounds like by going with OSS you are locking yourself into needing your OWN development department if you want to rely on the software, have bug fixes implemented and want any general help/feedback with a OSS product you using. Is that really the attitude you want to portray? Why do that when you can just pay the license fee.
Note: I develop for MS software, I have no moral problems with MS, and generally enjoy the experience. But that doesn't really affect my question. As I have worked on OSS projects and have a great deal of admiration for the developers of those projects.
I am just intrigued by your response, because it sure seems like a selling point AGAINST OSS.