Re: [ox-en] Paid linux programmers: how do they work
- From: Stefan Seefeld <seefeld sympatico.ca>
- Date: Tue, 15 May 2007 08:48:06 -0400
Hi Michael,
these are very interesting questions. Thanks for bringing them up in this forum !
May I suggest that we don't use "linux programmers", but "free software programmers",
as none of this is specific to Linux at all. At least among developers "Linux" really
only refers to the OS kernel, which, as important as it is, is only a small part of
it, and may in fact not enter the picture at all, since there are other Free platforms,
too.
Michael Bauwens wrote:
I guess some of you have seen this:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/090507_Database/09May2007_data05.php
where Microsoft's platform director argues Linux 'as free software', already no longer exists
That's the typical FUD, here based on a rather blurry and intentionally ambiguous notion of
'free software'.
I have a question as to the exact way the community and the corporation cooperate
- open source remains mostly nonproprietary software, but is increasinly produced by paid employes, true or not true?
I'm not sure what you mean by "mostly nonproprietary". How could proprietary and open source
(which is based on Free software) fit together at all ? Or are you really mean commercial, not
proprietary ?
As to the numbers, I honestly don't have any idea.
- which side dominates: the corporate or the community?
This sounds like a false dichotomy. An important sector of the Free Software that is produced
(or contributed to) by commercial entities is developed in cooperation. There is no community
on one side and corporations on the other.
- if the community is still a core element of open source, what is their relation to the paid employees
In as much as "paid employees" contribute to FLOSS projects, they are part of the community.
What else could be the incentive for corporations to participate, if not to take advantage
of the synergy of this collaboration ?
- how are these paid employees working: as free as community programmers, or are they under a command and control hierarchy; wny does the crowding out factor not apply (i.e. paid employees discouraging further work by volunteers, as it often happens, why not here?)
That depends. In most cases they probably implement specific features that are required by
commercial interests. But there are cases where employees have specifically time to work
on their own, without any guidance. (I hear that is how Google works.)
- who decides on the main strategic directions of free software development?
The community surrounding the project ? Note that this can take different forms, depending
on the size of the project, and the diversity of the community. For example, the GCC
project has a steering commitee (http://gcc.gnu.org/steering.html) that takes major
strategic decisions.
Regards,
Stefan
--
...ich hab' noch einen Koffer in Berlin...
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