This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things

[Dirk prive]

I tend to stay quiet a lot, and prefer being silent on the side lines, but
I have noticed that there is a difference between what was expected from an
open sourced LiveCode and what is actually possible with the open source
version of LiveCode.
When people hear "open source", I think it is completely normal that they
expect to read the source, make adjustments, and give them back to the
project. This way the project can be improved by anyone that wants to help.
That's how open source works generally.
With LiveCode we apparently have binary stacks that can be edited, but the
changes can't be merged back into the project.
That completely goes against what you expect from an open source project.
When some people vent frustration over this, others on the list attack the
messenger for the message.
I think more work should be done to make this a true open source project.
That is my opinion, and I don't expect LiveCode to listen to me.
I do think that it is important for an open source project to listen to the
community (that's much bigger than me) though, and I feel that instead of
listening to the community, opposing voices seem to be either ignored, or
sometimes people even try to stifle the complaint/opposing opinion. Seems
to me to exactly the opposite of what you need in an open source community.
That aside, I don't even use the community version myself, preferring being
able to keep my source to myself for commercial projects. Not that I've
never open sourced things (if it is code that could be used by and be
helpful to others), but I tend to open source certain parts, but almost
never my whole project.

Just my two cents.
Dirk Cleenwerck



On Thu, Sep 10, 2015 at 11:04 AM, Mark Waddingham <mark at livecode.com> wrote:

> On 2015-09-10 08:23, Richmond wrote:
>
>> Mark, "*flippant*" remarks often seem to hit nerves over at the
>> mother-ship, lest you haven't noticed.
>>
>
> There's a difference between 'flippant' remarks and...
>
> "Oh look what LiveCode have done now. How stupid is that. They obviously
> don't know what there doing. I know far better."
>
> Which is, to be frank, quite a frequent apparent subtext in a lot of your
> posts :)
>
> We could open a whole new thread about *intentionality* here . . .
>>
>
> And a whole new thread on ensuring that what you write actually comes
> across how you intend (indeed, I think this has come up on the list before).
>
> Mark.
>
> --
> Mark Waddingham ~ mark at livecode.com ~ http://www.livecode.com/
> LiveCode: Everyone can create apps
>
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