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Subject: Re: Open source doesn't work

Author: Jon Dart

Date: 07:11:44 11/08/01

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I make both binary and source downloads of my program available.

Well over 95% of the downloads are for binaries only. There just aren't that
many chess programmers out there, compared to the population of chess players.

I do think that the open source advocates are a bit misguided, just because of
this kind of imbalance. Most of the software-using population couldn't care less
about source being available.

But is it useful for the original programmer to make source public? I think so.
I've gotten lots and lots of bug reports - fewer now than I used to, but that's
because the reported ones have mostly been fixed. And I have paid attention to
user suggestions for features - I can't implement all of them but some of them
have gotten done. Plus I got interesting email from lots of different people all
over the world.

I had a few programmers who actually wanted to work on the source contact me.
But no one really followed up on this. Disappointing, perhaps, but not
unexpected, given that programming expertise in this specialized field is not
common, and those who do have it often choose to go off and start their own
projects.

B.t.w. I have looked at ZZZZZ source - it was at the time one of the relatively
few public source programs available.

--Jon



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