Bill Stoddard wrote: > Disclosure... I work for IBM. So do I.
> IBM'ers participate on projects as individuals and it's the actions of > individuals that should be judged. I think that is a bit oversimplified. IBM has strict rules about open source participation. It is either "on private time", such as my involvement at Apache. Then the person is acting as an individual. Or it is "on company time". Then the person is doing what he or she is paid for. And if IBM is changing it's priorities, or the line item that required OSS participation is closed, plenty of other work will be dumped on that person, simply leaving no (work) time for OSS participation. Yes, Apache attaches all merits to the individual. But you cannot reasonably expect individuals that got paid for working on an Apache project to continue their involvement at a comparable level on private time, nor "judge" them for retiring. The ultimate cause of reduced activity here would be the employer's decision, not the individual's. While I think that Endre's concerns are very real and justified, there are two points I'd like to mention in this context: 1. This is not specific to IBM. It is a danger to all projects with corporate backing, whether that comes from IBM or BEA or SUN or whomever. 2. Community diversity is an exit criteria, not an entry criteria. cheers, Roland --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
