[time-nuts] Releasing sources (was Re: Brooks Shera)

[Chris Albertson]

Some times a project will "take off" when the number of users reaches
a critical mass.  There are many Open Source projects where the
initial creator is long gone but the project lives on.    How to get a
project to that stage?  First off you need numbers of users put allso
you need some kind of communications forum like this one where the
uesrs can help each other.  In other words you need to build a
community around the project.

With the Thunderbolts getting more expensive we might see interrest
agin on home brew GPSDOs.  A comunity could ddevelope about these.
That would be the goal of every Open Source author, to get out of the
job of support and pass that job on to the community.

On Thu, Mar 28, 2013 at 11:16 AM, NeonJohn <jgd at neon-john.com> wrote:
>
>
> On 03/25/2013 09:36 AM, Jim Lux wrote:
>
>> One reason is that if one DOES release source, one will wind up
>> supporting it, because generally, we all nice people and helpful, and
>> it's hard to tell someone no when they send an email asking how to get
>> it to compile on Version N+3 when you used version N, etc.  This can be
>> a real distraction from whatever else you are doing.
>
> Boy, you can say that again.  And open source hardware is even worse.  A
> couple of years ago I put up an open source induction heater on my site.
>  Everything included - schematics, board layouts, CAD files, theory of
> operation, how to wind the transformer - in short, everything I could
> think of.  There's even a kit available from Fluxeon.com.
>
> Yet I probably spend an hour a day responding to emails about that
> project.  Approximately 100% of the questions are either answered on my
> site or by a little googling.  It's getting to be enough of a burden
> that I'm considering taking the page down.
>
> I'm a dedicated supporter of Open Source but this experience has
> tempered my enthusiasm a bit.
>
>> And then there's the folks who argue with you about your implementation
>> or coding style.
>
> Or electrical design style.  I think that the people who want to argue
> design, especially "what if I did this?" type arguments are more
> tiresome than the software know-it-alls.
>
> People need to really think and do their Google homework before hitting
> the email button on a project site.
>
> John
>
>
> --
> John DeArmond
> Tellico Plains, Occupied TN
> http://www.fluxeon.com      <-- THE source for induction heaters
> http://www.neon-john.com    <-- email from here
> http://www.johndearmond.com <-- Best damned Blog on the net
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-- 

Chris Albertson
Redondo Beach, California