As you may or may not know, I'm somewhat involved in the free software (often called open-source software) community. A Brief description: Free software is software that is distributed freely to users. The user can freely use the software, modify it and re-distribute it. Companies around the world are earning millions of dollars through their usage of free software.
Free software is quite often created by volunteers who work on it on their free time. Some do get paid from their work, but many are students or people with enough free time to create free software.
So, where am I getting at here? Free software has given me a great look at a phenomena I would like to see disappear. Namely, the people who think that they are entitled to everything. In this case they are the people who get lots and lots of great software for free. Many of them use that software to earn money. So they don't pay for the software and they are not forced to use the software. And still, they tell the developers of the software "Your software sucks! I demand that you fix these bugs immediately!".
Excuse me? Does the fact that the user uses the software somehow mean that he's entitled to make demands? I might understand that sentiment if he paid for the software. But he didn't. I might understand if he was forced to use the software. But he isn't. He's making the conscious decision to use some software, and he can use that software for free. So how exactly is he entitled to make demands? And besides, since this is open-source software we are talking about, he could always fix the problem himself. Or he could pay someone to fix it for him. But making demands to people who create free software isn't helping much.
It seems to me that there's lots of people who have grown accustomed to the fact that there's loads of free software available. And they take that software for granted. And when it doesn't work perfectly, they start to make demands.
It would be similar if I gave someone a free BMW. And the reply I would get in return would be something like "Dude, WTF is this?! Why isn't there any gas in the tank? I demand that you fill the tank! Don't you know that giving others BMW's with no gasoline gives a very bad impression of you?".
Uh-huh.
4 comments:
Wow, talk about an unbelievably selfish view. Those "peoploe that think they are entitled to everything" ARE YOUR USERS.
According to you, I'm not entitled to complain about open source software because I'm not a contributing developer. To limit yourself to the subset of people actively working on a project is ludricrous - imagine if the only people that used the Linux kernel were the folks who contributed patches. And no one else was allowed to ask for bug fixes (any bug fix is fundamentally a "demand" of the developers).
Welcome to the world of software - you obviously haven't been here for long. Users have every right to request features, gripe about bugs, or complain about developers not responding to requests. And you, the developer, should feel compelled to fix those bugs not because someone is dangling money in front of your face, but because you have a responsibility to your end users. It is who you're creating the software for, after all.
It's people like you that reinforce the negative opinion of open source. You're openly mocking your users because you don't like being told what to do. They're not developers, they don't have the expertise to "fix it themselves". Who cares whether they paid for it or not? They are just normal folks trying to improve their lives by using a piece of software that you have produced. This is the way software development works - it has nothing to do with open source.
No wonder so many people hate open source projects. Arrogant developers with no concern for their user base, and utter contempt for anyone who doesn't want to contribute to their project.
I wholeheartedly agree.
The writer of the article in question is simply stating that he does not like the state of OSS in general. That given 30 years of developement, with thousands of incredibly smart people working and looking at the code, there are still serious fundamental problems.
I think his argument about print drivers is an excellent one. Your solution is to make him pay for a developer to write some print drivers or write them himself. Do you want some rough statistics on the number of developers to the number of real world users?
How on earth is the average user supposed to write printer drivers?
Or better yet, hire a developer for about the same as the cost of the printer. (or likely more)
His complaint is that buying a printer in the OSS world is completely different from buying one in the non-OSS world.
As the above poster stated, a user most assuredly has the right to make demands on your software. The actual cost makes no difference. If you want proof, then make the assumption that the right to use OSS was a dollar. A single dollar. Does he have any right then?
Of course he does, just as he does when it's free.
The writer of that article is saying that the current state of OSS, is like a developer handing out free copies of his software, but when someone dare question him, he tells them to go away.
"Wow, talk about an unbelievably selfish view. Those "peoploe that think they are entitled to everything" ARE YOUR USERS."
Nowhere did I say that developers should not listen to their users. User-feedback is a GOOD THING! What I said what that the users are not entitled to make DEMANDS.
If I write a piece of software and put in on the net for others to use. Would it be OK if some Joe Sixpack downloaded my little app, used it and wrote to me telling "Hey, your software sucks! Fix these bugs NOW! I use your software to earn money, and I DEMAND that you fix these problems right away!"? That is exactly what is happening these days. It would be great if the user said (for example) "Interesting piece of software. However, I found these bugs in it. Can you fix them?". Notice the difference in the tone. In one case, the user is demanding the developer to fix the bugs. In the other case, he reports the bugs, and asks when/if they will be fixed. A huge difference. Asking for something is the right thing to do. It's polite and it's nice. Demanding for something is NOT the right thing to do.
"According to you, I'm not entitled to complain about open source software because I'm not a contributing developer."
No, I did not say that. Please: don't put words in to my mouth. You are more than welcome to give feedback. What you are NOT entitle to (IMO) is to make demands. You were given (or rather, you decided to use certain piece of software) piece of software for free. Does that mean that you are now in a position to make demands to the developers? No you are not. The license of the software does not say "by using this software, you can make demands to the developers".
"It's people like you that reinforce the negative opinion of open source. You're openly mocking your users because you don't like being told what to do."
I'm not mocking anyone. Users are more than welcome to provide feedback. But making demands is completely out of the question. If they paid the developer to work on the problems, then they could make demands. But they are not paying a thing. Some people spend their time creating software that these users can use for free. The users are benefitting trendemously from that software. And yet some people seem to think that it's the DEVELOPERS who should be thanking the users, and not vice versa.
"Arrogant developers with no concern for their user base, and utter contempt for anyone who doesn't want to contribute to their project."
As I read your comment, it becomes clear to me that you missed my point by a mile. I'm not talking about "holding users in contempt". I'm talking about users who think that just because they happen to use a piece of software, they are in a position to make demands. They _might: have the right to make demands if they paid for the software. But they didn't. They might have the right if the developer somehow forces them to use their software. But they are not forced to use anything. The user receives a gift (which happens to be software). Does that mean that the user can then make demands?
If someone gives you a computer for free, do you demand that the computer must have 4GB of RAM and dualcore CPU? No you do not (if you do, you are an ass). Then what makes you think that if someone gives you some code as a gift, you are entitled to make demands?
really, you are missing my point. You seem to believe that I'm saying that users should not give any feedback unless they also contribute to the project. NOTHING could be farther from the truth! What I said is that the fact that they merely use a piece of software they got for free, does not mean that the developers of that software are the users bitches and they should do everything the users tells them to do. users can ask them to do something, but they can't DEMAND them to do something. But wstill, more and more people are making demands, instead of simply asking.
Feedback is a great thing. bug-reports are a great thing. Patches are a great thing. Simple demands are NOT. You don't seem to understand the difference between "feedback" and "demand".
"I think his argument about print drivers is an excellent one. Your solution is to make him pay for a developer to write some print drivers or write them himself. Do you want some rough statistics on the number of developers to the number of real world users?"
What would be the CORRECT solution to this problem? That the company making the hardware writes the drivers. If they decide not to write the drivers, FOSS-developers can't be expected to write them instead. True, the developers try to write the drivers but it's not easy. Many times the hardware-companies refuse to release the needed specs so they could write the drivers.
If there is a piece of hardware that is not supported in Linux (for example), whining to the developers is not the right thing to do. Instead, you should whine to the maker of the hardware. It's their job to provide drivers for their hardware. Even though the developers try to create the drivers, it's not their responsibility in the end. It's the responsibility of the hardware-company to provide those drivers.
If the hardware-company does not provide you with the drivers for their hardware, how exactly is that the fault of the FOSS-developers?
"His complaint is that buying a printer in the OSS world is completely different from buying one in the non-OSS world."
He should complain to the printer-companies for not providing suitable drivers. The developers do their best, but there's only so much they can do.
"As the above poster stated, a user most assuredly has the right to make demands on your software."
No he doesn't have that right. He can ask for things. He can provide feedback. But he can't simply demand that "Hey! I DEMAND that you write drivers for this piece of hardware!".
If you receive a gift from someone, do you start to make demands? If someone gives you a free computer, do you demand that it must have cutting-edge vid-card? If someone paints you a painting and gives it to you as a gift, do you tell the artist that "I think the sunset on this painting looks crappy, I DEMAND that you re-do it!"
When I receive a gift, I thank the person giving me that gift. I do not start making demands. But it seems to me that many people think that if that gift happens to be software, they can make demands to the people giving you that gift. It just boggles the mind!
"The writer of that article is saying that the current state of OSS, is like a developer handing out free copies of his software, but when someone dare question him, he tells them to go away."
I VERY rarely see developers tell users to "go away". I see users giving lots and lots of useful feedback, and I see developers doing their best to take that feedback in to account in the future versions of the software. And that is a GOOD THING. But making demands is a whole different ballgame.
But hey, if the software is so bad, use something else. You have that right. Nobody is forcing you to use FOSS-software, and you didn't pay one dime for the software. So what makes you think that you have the right to make demands?
Instead of making demands, you could simply ask. In both cases the developers will know how you feel, but there's a world of difference in the way you let them know of your opinion. THAT is what I'm trying to say here. Asking for something is the way to go, making demands is not.
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