Ask Slashdot: What Defines Success In an Open Source Project?

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Ask Slashdot: What Defines Success In an Open Source Project?

Posted by Soulskill on Tuesday March 27, 2012 @07:33AM from the having-people-care-enough-to-complain-endlessly dept.

rbowen writes "Nine years ago, Slashdot readers discussed what makes an Open Source project successful. The answers were varied, of course. An academic paper summarized the results, agreeing (albeit with more precision) that motivations for Open Source projects are varied. Has anything changed since then? In the era of mobile apps, social media, and Google Ad revenue, have the definitions of Open Source project success changed at all? Have your reasons changed for being involved in Open Source?"

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Score by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-27 07:35 · Score: 5, Funny

Your project is a success when a corporation embeds it in their product and violates the GPL.
1. Re:Score by Anne+Thwacks · 2012-03-27 08:55 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Or when MS shills tell the world how much it sucks!
  
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Usage by recoiledsnake · 2012-03-27 07:35 · Score: 5, Insightful

I think widespread usage is a good metric and not just gloating over profit like the Apple fans like to do. "Apple derived the most profit from the cell phone industry." they say, to put down Android's usage gains. By that metric, IIS is totally killing Apache and Nginx in the web server space, but most folks consider Apache beats IIS. Which of this is true?

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1. Re:Usage by localman57 · 2012-03-27 08:51 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  I think widespread usage is a good metric...
  I would say that any usage is a good metric. If you google the name of your project, and another person has made a positive comment somewhere about it, the it's a success, because you've touched someone. You don't have to measure yourself by the standard of Apache or Android or Firefox.
  
  It reminds me of a story:
  Two men are walking along a beach after the tide has gone out, leaving stranded starfish for as far as they can see. One man leans down and picks one up, and throws it back into the sea.
  "Why bother?" the other man asks. "Look at all of them. It doesn't make any difference."
  "It made a huge difference to that one," he replied.
2. Re:Usage by tlhIngan · 2012-03-27 09:37 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  I think widespread usage is a good metric and not just gloating over profit like the Apple fans like to do. "Apple derived the most profit from the cell phone industry." they say, to put down Android's usage gains. By that metric, IIS is totally killing Apache and Nginx in the web server space, but most folks consider Apache beats IIS. Which of this is true?
  Both are metrics. Android vs. iOS, profit is a good metric - but so is usage. Android usage is under-reported because it's going by official Google Android numbers, and misses AOSP numbers. It's why the #2 tablet is the Kindle Fire, but isn't really seen in the Android listings. And there are many Android AOSP based phones out there (mostly in China) running nice "alternative" app stores. Profit's also a good metric too - after all, if Apple is making the most profit, it means that despite Android having a much larger marketshare (or usage), when combined with profits from non-smartphones, Apple is making more money then all of them combined. It helps explain why Nokia/RIM/Samsung are opposing any and all Apple proposals (money money money...)
  As for Apache and IIS - I believe Apache actually has a larger marketshare over IIS (at least it did when all those IIS exploits were floating around), and quite possibly, the Apache-based ecosystem is far more profitable than the IIS ecosystem. But that's because of the licensing and support and many other factors.
  In the end, success is whatever you want to define it. Some people consider success as making profits. Others may consider having someone else use the software a success. And others may define it as having most marketshare. Or maybe it's the entire economic profit of the software and its ecosystem. The only person that can judge the success of open-source software are the developers.
  Heck, another definition of success may be the original creator can step down and see their software continue to evolve instead of becoming abandoned.
I can think of one measure by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-27 07:35 · Score: 3, Funny

If RMS takes credit for the project and insists that everyone put "GNU/" in front of the name.
Does it still itch? by Hatta · 2012-03-27 07:38 · Score: 4, Insightful

If so, you're not done yet. If not, find another itch to scratch.

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When someone compares you to commercial software by crazyjj · 2012-03-27 07:48 · Score: 3, Insightful

When respected authorities begin to compare you directly to the commercial alternative, even if you're still found somewhat wanting, you have arrived.

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What is best in life? by binarylarry · 2012-03-27 07:50 · Score: 5, Funny

I believe RMS said it best when he declared the following metrics required for FOSS project success:
1) To crush your enemies
2) To see them driven before you
3) To hear the lamentation of their women
For a good example of this, check out how Android has dominated Window Phone 7 and how their womenfolk continually spam Slashdot with first posts about their crushed dreams.

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Lots of things you can look at by dkleinsc · 2012-03-27 07:55 · Score: 5, Insightful

1. Did it solve the original problem it was intended to solve?
2. How many other people had their problem solved by it? (usage stats, as much as possible)
3. How many other people were motivated to improve it? (got involved as developers, testers, documenters, etc)
4. Did it reach a point where it was so darned useful and bug-free that nobody really needed to think seriously about the problem ever again? (e.g. GNU's "bc" utility, which hasn't changed since 2000, and does its job beautifully)
The ultimately successful open source project goes through a lifecycle of something like:
1. solve an immediate problem
2. get developers, testers, documenters involved solving the problem in a wider context
3. solve the problem for a whole lot of users
4. nobody thinks any more work is needed

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The same thing by AdrianKemp · 2012-03-27 07:57 · Score: 4, Insightful

The exact same thing that defines success in non-open source software: It does what you wanted.
Doesn't matter whether it's a log rotation script, a web app, a POS system or firmware for electronics on the next spaceship. Software success is determined by only one metric. Open source doesn't enter into it.
Re:Usage is asinine. by oakgrove · 2012-03-27 07:58 · Score: 3, Insightful

You might not like Mickie-D's fair but nobody in their right mind wouldn't call them successful. That's what we're talking about here.

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When it's better than you alone could make it. by Dr.+Manhattan · 2012-03-27 08:02 · Score: 4, Interesting

I'd say, when your open-source project is better because you made it open-source, it's successful. My own minor projects have been improved by testing, bug reports, bug fixes, and new feature contributions through the years. Certainly they are more useful to me now than they would have been if I was the only one working on them.

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Success by Gaygirlie · 2012-03-27 08:04 · Score: 4, Insightful

Success is when you have reached the goal you have set, nothing more, nothing less.
An open-source project can be success even if it has NO users whatsoever outside the developers, and equally well it can be a failure even if it had 200,000 users. An outsider cannot really say whether a project is a success or not, it's the developers who has that say.
A lawsuit. by DieByWire · 2012-03-27 08:08 · Score: 3, Insightful

You know you've arrived when you've been sued for patent infringement.

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The Production of Meaningful, Useful Documentation by Petersko · 2012-03-27 08:57 · Score: 3, Interesting

...and what a wasteland of failure lies before us... :)