Open Stack

On 09/10/2014 10:29 AM, Stefano Maffulli wrote:
> On 09/05/2014 12:36 PM, Tim Bell wrote:
>> How can the average deployer know whether a stackforge is
>>
>> a.      An early prototype which has completed (such as some of the
>> early LBaaS packages)
>>
>> b.      A project which has lost its initial steam and further
>> investment is not foreseen
>>
>> c.      A reliable project where there has not been a significant need
>> to change recently but is a good long term bet
>
> This pops up often and to me it looks like a software procurement issue,
> something that the 'buyer' needs to be able to sort out either with the
> help of their vendors (distributions or system integrators), or if they
> go DIY, with other instruments to check code quality, level of support
> by the community, professional support etc (there are a few EU funded
> researches and tools, like http://qualipso.icmc.usp.br/OMM/).
>
> Why do you think any open source project should be in the business of
> providing such assurances? Isn't that a role more suitable for the
> commercial ecosystem?

I reject soundly and fundamentally the idea that Open Source projects 
NEED a commercial ecosystem to provide solid quality software. That is a 
description of a thing called "Open Core" and every time it has come up 
in the context of OpenStack I and others have been quite successful in 
reiterating:

   OpenStack is NOT Open Core

bind has been running DNS for the world for 20 years and does it quite 
admirably without someone needing to buy "Commercial Bind"

Apache has been the dominant web server for forever, and if there is any 
human who has ever purchased "Commerical Apache" they are an absolute moron.

There is no such thing as "Commercial Python"

Open Source software has been running the entire internet, at scale, 
since before the Internet was wide spread, and since well before the 
term Open Source existed. In fact, Open Source software drove the world 
of computing before the idea of Commercial Software was invented.

Does this mean that our commercial vendors are bad? No. Absolutely not. 
I love each and every one of them and want all of them to make tons of 
money. But if the thing I produce isn't good in the first place, I 
expect them to show up and help me fix it. Here. In the Open Source 
project. Otherwise, they are a leech and should be mocked.

So, no, I do not believe that it should be the purview of the commercial 
ecosystem to provide quality assurances about the Open Source software 
that I work on. And I'm highly offended that as a community manager for 
an Open Source project, that you seem to think that the output of our 
project should not be world class all by itself.

Monty