[OPLINTECH] Open Office Software

[Chad Neeper]

Mr. Mason, I will reply to this comment on-list since it appears that 
you may have misdirected this comment directly to me rather than to the 
list.

Many open source projects _do_ ask for donations in the form of code, 
cash to help fund a server or web site, donations to the community by 
way of peer support, documentation donations, etc. You are, however, _in 
no way_ obliged to donate to any particular project regardless of 
whether or not you use the software.

If you re-read the OpenOffice.org contribution request page 
<http://download.openoffice.org/2.3.1/contribute.html?product=OpenOffice.org&os=winwjre&lang=en-US&version=2.3.1>, 
you'll find that donating money is actually the /last/ option that they 
suggest. Personally, while I use OpenOffice extensively and while I 
encourage my schools and libraries to use it, I have not donated a 
single penny to the project, nor have I donated code or documentation. 
Aside from perhaps asking a question or two in the peer support groups, 
I have not even contributed much to the OOo peer support structures. Do 
I, as you say, "/freeload off of someone else's efforts without monetary 
assistance to them?/"  Yes. ...and..."/Shame on you if you did./"  I 
don't feel shame about that.

I do, however, embrace the concept of open source software. Because I am 
of limited financial means (as are many of the public libraries on this 
list), because my time is highly constrained, because the programming 
languages I know are far obsolete, because I donate a considerable 
amount of time and technical services to public libraries and schools (a 
direct impact on my "free" time), and because I'm not a good web 
developer I don't offer money, code, or web development to any open 
source project. I am, however, very good at understanding the nuances 
and interactions of the software I use, troubleshooting problems and 
assisting others. My contributions are in the form of peer support. 
Further, I also acknowledge that I am incapable of usefully contributing 
to every project that represents all of the open source software that I 
use. I don't contribute to the OpenOffice project because it is already 
amazingly well supported. I instead choose to focus my energies on 
projects that are less well supported. This is the concept and beauty of 
open source software!

So...I am very happy to know that you would feel obligated to donate to 
"the cause." Every bit helps, money and otherwise!

Out of curiosity, though, have any other libraries reading this thread 
contributed to an open source project? If so, in what way?

As for the cost benefit analysis, I would guess that this is best 
accomplished on your own and for individual scenarios. Every situation 
is unique, with unique parameters. Considering the wide number of 
parameters, such an analysis done for another organization would likely 
not align properly with yours or your clients'. Take, for instance, some 
of the later comments regarding training. Mr. Slone suggests that "the 
learning curve is so negligible, it shouldn't even be a factor in a 
decision regarding MS and OO." But that's at /his/ library. It could be 
a huge factor elsewhere.

My 2 cents,
Chad

-----------------------
Chad Neeper
Senior Systems Engineer

Level 9 Networks
740-548-8070 (voice)
866-214-6607 (fax)

--   Full LAN/WAN consulting services   --
-- Specialized in libraries and schools --



Tom Mason wrote:
>
> I’ll just note that when I downloaded my “free” OO, I was asked to 
> “donate” to the cost of writing, improving, supporting, and 
> distribution of OO.  Since we were simply evaluating it with no plan 
> to integrate and use it at the moment, we didn’t donate anything.  If 
> we were to evaluate it successfully, and roll it out to our employees, 
> I would feel obligated to “donate” to the cause in the interests of 
> fairness since we were benefiting from their labor.  Who knows, we may 
> want them to upgrade to support the docx formats of 2007. 
>
>  
>
> I’m wondering what some of you “donated” to OO’s development request 
> since you are actively using it for the benefit of your library, 
> facility or business.  Did you figure the “donation” cost into the 
> cost/benefit analysis, do you amortize it as you would the price you 
> paid to MS, or do you write it off as a charity contribution?  Or did 
> you figure you’d freeload off of someone else’s efforts without 
> monetary assistance to them?   Shame on you if you did.
>
>  
>
> I still have not seen a cost benefit analysis of “open source”, which 
> I don’t think literally or fairly translates to “free software”.
>
>  
>
> *Thomas Mason*, MCSE, AANG, Sr. Consultant
>
> *Management Assistance, Inc.*
>
> *Manufacturing, Academic and Government Solutions***
>
> /"We make it happen for you!"///
>
> masontj at manasst.com <mailto:masontj at manasst.com> 440.355.6962 
> Fax:440-355-4355
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mail.oplin.org/mailman/private/oplintech/attachments/20080124/83b2748d/attachment-0001.html
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: smime.p7s
Type: application/x-pkcs7-signature
Size: 3273 bytes
Desc: S/MIME Cryptographic Signature
Url : http://mail.oplin.org/mailman/private/oplintech/attachments/20080124/83b2748d/smime-0001.bin