[Qgis-psc] Next meeting and some thoughts on our approach to project governance

[Andreas Neumann]

Hi Alessandro,

On 17.02.2016 18:26, ElPaso wrote:
> I'm completely with you Richard.
>
> I understand Andreas's point of view, but I feel that the missing 
> point in the equation is that QGIS is a community-driven free (as in 
> speech) software.
>
> IMHO, having a vibrant community on a free software project is much 
> more important than having a business/enterprise software.

I think that one does not exclude the other. Having a vibrant community 
around a free software project does not exclude being a 
business/enterprise software at the same time.

On the contrary - I think it would even be a fruitful situation where 
both would benefit - the vibrant free software community and the 
business/enterprise users.

We can make sure that the software community doesn't loose its values 
but at the same time allow business users that their needs and 
requirements are met.

There are plenty of examples out there in the OpenSource GIS world where 
this works very well: Linux, LibreOffice, Apache, Python, PostgreSQL, 
Postgis - just to name a few. PostgreSQL is a very good example - it is 
the backend of some of the biggest Online vendors, big Telecom 
companies, of mapping agencies like IGN, OS, Swisstopo, banks, insurance 
companies, etc. - but at the same time it has a good free software 
community and not single company dominates it development. Corporate 
users get their critical features (like replication, ACID, clustering, 
load balancing, a stable and predictable release schedule, etc. They 
fund the features they need and the whole community benefits.

But in the case of PostgreSQL this only works well because they have an 
established organization and strict guidelines how something gets into 
the codebase: https://wiki.postgresql.org/wiki/Developer_FAQ: tests, 
reviews, meeting coding standards, etc. - but again that doesn't exclude 
voluntary contributions. And I think they maintain a friendly 
environment for all.

Andreas