Because I have plenty of other projects in the pipeline already, and can make more progress on those other projects by avoiding the platform where they occur than by fixing them. Were either not the case, things might be very different. As it is, I do try to help out here and there on open-source projects as time and talent allow, but I'm not about to abandon my own projects to become a near-full-time Linux bug-fixer.
I didn't expect, or intend a literal answer so much. Perhaps you think I've singled you out and I've made you feel guilty. Please don't. You made a decision that I can easily understand. I am not here to tell you what you should work on, only that you should do it with gusto. My point was really that we don't value the contributers enough.
Actually the idea that a developer is a developer with respect to his area of expertise and a user to with respect to areas outside his area of expertise makes a lot of sense really. This brings up the question that, with respect to a particular area, can a developer be enough of a user to understand what users need and enough of a developer to make it happen?
FWIW, I don't really expect anyone to forgo the tools that they want to use. The axe I grind is really that the icons of OSS too often portray a nirvana where you don't need to stray and those who do are branded outcasts by the community.
The OSS mantras make sense to an extent. But they are not absolutes. If eyballs were all that were needed to fix bugs, then shouldn't all the OSS bugs be gone? If all that were required for contributions were itches then wouldn't there be more contributions? No, not all itches get scratched and not all eyeballs see, and for many a good reason. The point is that the OSS mantras are really oversimplifications and, like their religious counterparts, lull us into a state where we stop thinking altogether.
Challenge you assumptions once in a while. It's good for you.
You clearly aren't a developer. Salamander has one (possibly more) problem area that he's interested in working on, distributed filesystems. He doesn't want to write video drivers or backup software, and shouldn't be expected to.
Actually I am a developer. I do understand the reasons why he did't get involved, but I didn't ask the question expecting to get a literal answer.
The point is that it is a rare and precious thing that someone with talent and interest can put forth the commitment to contribute. There are real people behind these OSS mantras that make real sacrifices to contribute. And the forces in their lives and those of would be contributors limits what their contributions can ultimately be.
This sort of got me thinking and I'll just toss out the thought...
Given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow.
Why aren't the bugs in XFree86 getting resolved more quickly?
Every good work of software starts by scratching a developer's personal itch.
Why isn't Salamander trying to work on these problems?
Open source software works when talented people meet interesting problems. The problem is, is this an interesting problem to someone out there talented enough and has enough spare time to do something about it? We collectively hope that someone is.
In the closed source world, users complain to software companies that in turn force developers to fix issues. The developers may not be as talented as the OSS stars and they make not have their heart in it, but there is someone looking at the problem. The flip side is also true for closed source. When users are unaware of an issue, the software companies will typically ignore it. Why would they waste expensive programmer time on issues that no one has brought up?
"X-Force is aware of active exploit development for this vulnerability." from http://online.securityfocus.com/archive/1/278818/2 002-06-23/2002-06-29/0
Looks like some patches are being merged into the source so now the bad guys will know where to look: "make sure # of response matches # of queries, fixes int overflow; from ISS"
Slashdot Mirror
Here is a link to a list of some product warning sites:
Dumb.Com - Product Warnings
Sign, Interstate 10, Near Phoenix, AZ
"State Prison: Do Not Stop for Hitchhikers"
On a Rowenta iron:
"Warning! Never iron clothes on the body!"
On a blanket from Taiwan -
"NOT TO BE USED AS PROTECTION FROM A TORNADO."
Should the government stop buying commercial routers because they use a proprietary operating system?
Should the government ground the entire F-16 fleet until some open source programmer releases a GPL F-16 fire control system?
Because I have plenty of other projects in the pipeline already, and can make more progress on those other projects by avoiding the platform where they occur than by fixing them. Were either not the case, things might be very different. As it is, I do try to help out here and there on open-source projects as time and talent allow, but I'm not about to abandon my own projects to become a near-full-time Linux bug-fixer.
I didn't expect, or intend a literal answer so much. Perhaps you think I've singled you out and I've made you feel guilty. Please don't. You made a decision that I can easily understand. I am not here to tell you what you should work on, only that you should do it with gusto. My point was really that we don't value the contributers enough.
Actually the idea that a developer is a developer with respect to his area of expertise and a user to with respect to areas outside his area of expertise makes a lot of sense really. This brings up the question that, with respect to a particular area, can a developer be enough of a user to understand what users need and enough of a developer to make it happen?
FWIW, I don't really expect anyone to forgo the tools that they want to use. The axe I grind is really that the icons of OSS too often portray a nirvana where you don't need to stray and those who do are branded outcasts by the community.
The OSS mantras make sense to an extent. But they are not absolutes. If eyballs were all that were needed to fix bugs, then shouldn't all the OSS bugs be gone? If all that were required for contributions were itches then wouldn't there be more contributions? No, not all itches get scratched and not all eyeballs see, and for many a good reason. The point is that the OSS mantras are really oversimplifications and, like their religious counterparts, lull us into a state where we stop thinking altogether.
Challenge you assumptions once in a while. It's good for you.
You clearly aren't a developer. Salamander has one (possibly more) problem area that he's interested in working on, distributed filesystems. He doesn't want to write video drivers or backup software, and shouldn't be expected to.
Actually I am a developer. I do understand the reasons why he did't get involved, but I didn't ask the question expecting to get a literal answer.
The point is that it is a rare and precious thing that someone with talent and interest can put forth the commitment to contribute. There are real people behind these OSS mantras that make real sacrifices to contribute. And the forces in their lives and those of would be contributors limits what their contributions can ultimately be.
This sort of got me thinking and I'll just toss out the thought...
Given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow.
Why aren't the bugs in XFree86 getting resolved more quickly?
Every good work of software starts by scratching a developer's personal itch.
Why isn't Salamander trying to work on these problems?
Open source software works when talented people meet interesting problems. The problem is, is this an interesting problem to someone out there talented enough and has enough spare time to do something about it? We collectively hope that someone is.
In the closed source world, users complain to software companies that in turn force developers to fix issues. The developers may not be as talented as the OSS stars and they make not have their heart in it, but there is someone looking at the problem. The flip side is also true for closed source. When users are unaware of an issue, the software companies will typically ignore it. Why would they waste expensive programmer time on issues that no one has brought up?
"X-Force is aware of active exploit development for this vulnerability."2 002-06-23/2002-06-29/0
from http://online.securityfocus.com/archive/1/278818/
Looks like some patches are being merged into the source so now the bad guys will know where to look:
"make sure # of response matches # of queries, fixes int overflow; from ISS"