[opensource-dev] Snowglobe 2 and Open Source
Hi Open Source devs, As you probably saw, we just launched Viewer 2 to public Beta. We've been dark for a long time, but it is for good reason: We needed to do a total overhaul of our user experience and that's not something best done by a large group. Honestly, there are times when we had an awful lot of cooks in the kitchen just with our internal team! We also today are launching Snowglobe 2, the Open Source package of Viewer 2.0. Merov has been working really hard to make this happen on the same day that we launched the Viewer 2 Public Beta, so please send him lots of love. As I type, Merov is pushing the svn repository and updating the Snowglobe wiki. We've been completely consumed with getting Viewer 2.0 out the door, which is why you've heard so little from us about where we plan to go from here. But I want to reiterate: We are committed to open source and to supporting the open development community. We embrace the notion that this community develops viewers that serve the needs of a wide range of Residents while we pursue a broader consumer market. I realize that it frustrates some that we are not a completely "open development" project, i.e. we do not do our internal development in a public repository. I do not expect this change in the near future. Over time, we hope that core components of our code can be developed in the open, while the functionality that we wish to keep proprietary can be developed internally. I expect us to evolve to a model that is less like Firefox, and more like Safari+WebKit, where the core engine is an open development project but the high level app is proprietary. Unfortunately, we're not there yet. Our code is not yet modular enough to support that model. There have been many wonderful ideas here recently regarding viewer scriptability, and that's definitely an area we intend to pursue. It goes hand-in-hand with making a more modular code base. The time hasn't been right for us to engage deeply in this conversation; again, we've been quite busy getting 2.0 out the door. Once the dust settles from the 2.0 launch and we're on track to deliver 2.1 in short order, we'll be back and very interested in engaging on this topic. Thanks for your support and patience. Regards, Howard ___ Policies and (un)subscribe information available here: http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/OpenSource-Dev Please read the policies before posting to keep unmoderated posting privileges
Re: [opensource-dev] Snowglobe 2.0^H^H^H1.3 way forward?
On Mar 12, 2010, at 3:28 PM, Latif Khalifa wrote: > I'm hoping that we get robla's replacement soon, who could facilitate > such two-way and mutually beneficial flow of fixes and new features. I couldn't agree more. Unfortunately we just lost a great candidate that I was hopeful we would close. If anyone on this list has a lead to a great candidate to help manage our open source efforts, please have them contact me directly. Thanks! Howard ___ Policies and (un)subscribe information available here: http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/OpenSource-Dev Please read the policies before posting to keep unmoderated posting privileges
[opensource-dev] Moving forward with open development
Hey opensource-dev@, Well, no lack of passion here recently. I want to let you know that we're paying very close attention and we're prepared to make some changes to how we manage our open development projects and work with the community. First, our intent: - We are going to start moving more of our Viewer development into the open. This means that some LL engineers will be working in a development branch that is in the open, viewable by all, and that communication and design activity for these projects will happen in the open. Over time, if it goes well, it may even become most viewer development. Q will start a separate thread with a proposal on branching strategy shortly. - We will continue to do some private internal development downstream of the external branch. As you know, we use some libraries that cannot be public. Also, we are obligated to protect our Second Life trademark, so the external branch will remain branded Snowglobe, not Second Life. - We will occasionally have projects where we defer communicating about them because we are still sorting out the business model or because we haven't gathered our own thoughts about design goals or requirements. We will endeavor to get opensource-dev@ involved as soon as is practical. - We have just gotten started thinking about Firefly. Our intent is not to exclude you, we just simply aren't ready to talk about it because we're busy with other things and gathering our own thoughts. Please be patient and assume good intent. And there are few things we need in return: - We need some better behavior on this list. While many folks have been constructive and helpful, many have not. Quite simply, if you can not remain civil, professional and constructive, please go elsewhere. Repeat offenders may be put under moderation. - We'd like your help finding candidates for a full-time leader of our open development initiative. Please see the job description here. - If you are going to contribute to Snowglobe, you will need to complete the Second Life Viewer Contribution Agreement. While not everyone is comfortable with it, we need to do it to protect our business interests. It also protects you. I'll draft off of Sun's FAQ and this FSF page on the topic. I'm sure lots of commentary will follow, and I hope it's all constructive and in the spirit of working better together. Regards, Howard ___ Policies and (un)subscribe information available here: http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/OpenSource-Dev Please read the policies before posting to keep unmoderated posting privileges
