Admittedly, I'm not an open source guru, I just use open source apps (and sometimes operating systems!). So I may be putting my foot in my...er, firewire port.

But I think you have a misunderstanding about the open source movement. My sense is, people write stuff that does some cool things. They release it as open source so it can get out there, get used, be extended, and because they believe in the concept of open source.

In some respects, too, it is a labor of love.

Looking at Linux as an example, you download a Linux distro, and take advantage of the avenues available for free support. But if you really need help and don't have the technical expertise to bend Linux to your will - or requirements - you can hire companies who will do what you need. Like IBM.

For example, getting to your point about who is the developer and who is the customer: I keep setting up websites for groups using open source tools. MediaWiki, for example. Now, I'm no expert. But I set it up, and it works. Sometimes, some people criticise the "look and feel," and want some stuff that requires some PHP and CSS hacking. I just shrug at them. I don't know that stuff and I'm not sure I want to beyond the bare basics. But they are free to learn how to do it themselves, contribute money to hire a company who will do it, or persuade others to donate the money. They are also free to say "you know what, we don't like MediaWiki, and we're not going to use it." And they are free to use something else. No sweat off my mousepad.

In other words, just like an old house, you can hire someone to make it pretty, or you can put in the sweat equity and do it yourself. But you can't go to Lowes and get answers on every single step required for how you should pull up the old linoleum, repair the subfloor, and put down a new floor in your specific house.

What's that old saw, "You can build it quickly, you can build it cheaply, you can build it well. Pick two." That applies in the open source world, and for those who implement open source solutions, too.

My .02 worth. I could be totally off base. Wouldn't be the first time.

On 6/8/07 12:54 PM, "Monahon, Peter B." Peter.Monahon@USPTO.GOV either wrote, forwarded or quoted:

Peter Blaise responds: Thanks, Dave. I think you've identified one central problem - nobody seems to know what a "customer" is! Perhaps they are just doing all this coding for their own entertainment after all. That explains a lot.

Anyway, my point is: just because this is "open source" does not mean we have to forget all the advances in the features and benefits of user interface design, many that were achieved 20 years ago.

I'm trying to inspire customer service; you're trying to explain lack of customer service. It makes sense, then, that our posts would seem to argue with each other - we're talking about different things.