[ILUG] Open Source 2.0

[Robert Sweetnam]

Colm MacCarthaigh wrote:

> I decided not to go to both of those too. Even though I'm only about
> an hour away. So it's entirely possible I'm just going through a
> particularly bitter and cynical phase right now. 

Ya think? Realising it is half the battle ;)

> *shrug*

*yawn*

> I really don't know if I agree with that. I really enjoy meeting up with
> other coders and Open Source hackers, it's brilliant fun to just chat,
> maybe look at some problems, and so on. But I try to steer clear of all
> the evangelical types of event, and I generally don't see any point in
> raising the general awareness.

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't that what the whole idea of BarCamp is 
about? (raising awareness?) O.K. so it doesn't fit in with your ideals 
and it will bore you to death so does that mean its a bad thing? After 
all you don't have to go. You are fully aware of the opportunities open 
source affords you, others aren't.

I agree that the somewhat more enthusiastic types can overwhelm those of 
us with even the slightest modicum of knowledge but for the novices I 
firmly believe that events such as this are an important step in the 
general awareness of the advantages of open source software.

> I think it's really important to attract more developers to Open Source,
> but to be honest, I don't see how it matters much how generally aware of
> it non-developers are, or how it really benefits Open Source.

Non developers generally tend to be in the majority. By that I mean that 
most people (myself included) are the beneficiaries of all that open 
source can provide, complete with advantages and (rare) disadvantages, 
sadly I don't have the necessary programming skills to contribute back 
although I have been known to buy boxed set distros occassionally.

I for one would like to hear other persons real world experiences even 
if it is a 20 minute presentation of their own experiences. Regale and 
relate. Nothing wrong with it. Just because I do not know any 
programming language should not be an impediment to my interest in 
certain projects. Either for myself or the company that I may happen to 
represent.

> Though that said, I do think Government should make vastly more use of
> OpenSource. Private business and individuals can do what they likes
> though!

Agreed. There should be more options available to the end user. But the 
adoption of a certain open source project depends entirely on its 
usefulness. Mozilla springs to mind, It has a wide spread and growing 
user base and as such it will attract developers whereas something more 
esoteric, such as Dillo might not.

Government adoption is one thing but unless there is an established 
userbase for them to proceed with an open source approach then there is 
little reason for them to do so. After all why should they adjust their 
standards just to please the minority? Or maybe they should and force us 
to conform.

Again this goes back to events such as Barcamp and raising the awarness 
of the advantages of open source projects to the general public and 
those otherwise not inclined to consider such options. Real world 
examples and experiences of how open source solutions helped a 
business/individual speaks volumes more than one of the more rarer types 
who actually understands the code in the Linux kernel.

Still to this day there are mis-conceptions about open source, and Linux 
in particular that make it appear to the common person that it is 
elitest. Non developers count because at the end of the day they are the 
ones who will ultimately decide if a project succeeds or not.

Cheers and if you read this far thanks!
Robert