[OSGeo-Discuss] Open Location Services

Tue Nov 3 12:12:22 PST 2009

If you have big commercial customers I'd approach them. If they're
heavily invested in your software then they could see the value
potentially.

I understand what you're saying tho. Most of the organically-grown
projects are those that started as open source and don't compare well
to closed2open conversions.

On 11/3/09, Cameron Shorter <cameron.shorter at gmail.com> wrote:
> Puneet,
> I don't have a specific answer for "How Much LISAsoft's OpenLS code
> costs to Open Source" yet, I'd need to do the analysis, and so I'll talk
> in general terms, based on my experience with other projects.
>
> 1. For LISAsoft, "Just dumping code into Sourceforge" is usually not an
> option. Our reputation is based upon our understanding of Open Source
> and producing quality software, and it would be detrimental to our
> image, and hence our future job prospects to do a poor job.
>
> 2. For simple projects, Open Sourcing can easily at least a few weeks,
> to put processes and web sites in place. But the bigger cost is growing
> and supporting the community, maybe one person day per week, for the
> rest of the year. I heard that Autodesk decided to provide a major
> re-write of their MapGuide Open Source software before Open Sourcing,
> which would likely have cost them man months, probably man years.
>
> 3. Yes, LISAsoft will miss out on opportunity costs because we derive
> commercial advantage by owning an OpenLS codebase.
>
> At the end of the day, our decision will be financial. Can we make more
> money by Open Sourcing or not. At LISAsoft we support both Open and
> Closed source business models, depending on which makes better business
> sense.
>
> P Kishor wrote:
>> On Tue, Nov 3, 2009 at 8:49 AM, Daniel Morissette
>> <dmorissette at mapgears.com> wrote:
>>
>>> P Kishor wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Tue, Nov 3, 2009 at 3:47 AM, Cameron Shorter
>>>> <cameron.shorter at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> P Kishor wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> On Sun, Nov 1, 2009 at 1:26 PM, Cameron Shorter
>>>>>> <cameron.shorter at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> David,
>>>>>>> LISAsoft has a java implementation of OpenLS which we would like to
>>>>>>> Open
>>>>>>> Source if we can find a sponsor to cover our packaging costs.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> What kind of costs are "packaging costs," and what do they amount to
>>>>>> generally, and for OpenLS, more specifically?
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>> P Kishor,
>>>>> As you are probably aware, just dumping code into sourceforge is not an
>>>>> effective way to start a successful Open Source project.
>>>>> There needs to be suitable  technical documentation, development
>>>>> processes
>>>>> documentation, web pages set up, issue trackers put in place, access
>>>>> writes
>>>>> granted to developers, and then have at least one champion sit on email
>>>>> lists supporting new users.
>>>>> That is what I consider "packaging costs".
>>>>>
>>>> The above makes sense, but honestly, I had never heard of this until
>>>> now, and I have been tinkering with open source for almost a decade
>>>> now. Most open source projects seemed organic to me. Someone had an
>>>> itch, they scratched it, they put it out, and the project either
>>>> gathered traction, or it died. Seems like my scholarship of open
>>>> source has been lacking in this aspect hugely.
>>>>
>>>>
>>> Hi Puneet,
>>>
>>> I have to run now, so I don't have time for a long answer, but I just
>>> wanted
>>> to add that Cameron is right... unfortunately it's not as simple as
>>> setting
>>> up a project on sourceforge even if it may seem to be that way from the
>>> user's perspective.
>>>
>>> I have been through the process of open sourcing projects several times
>>> over
>>> the last 10 years, and did it again a few weeks ago with the GeoPrisma
>>> launch. I think we are getting better at it as we gain experience, and
>>> can
>>> confirm that those packaging costs and planning requirements are real and
>>> need to be taken into account for a successful project launch. Another
>>> aspect to consider that I don't think was mentioned is to balance the
>>> pros
>>> and cons of open sourcing and not doing it on your own business and on
>>> the
>>> project/product itself.
>>>
>>>
>>
>> Based on Daniel's response, a thought occurred to me -- my inquiry in
>> this thread might be seen as an "attack" on the concept of packaging
>> costs. I want to put this disclaimer forward, even though I thought I
>> had made my intentions clear in my first email -- I am not at all
>> antagonistic or in any way attacking the concept of packaging costs in
>> general or LISASoft in particular. I am merely curious. I had never
>> heard of packaging costs until this thread, so obviously, my
>> scholarship of open source, particularly its economics and motivation,
>> has been seriously lacking, and I need to correct it. And, what better
>> way to do that than to ask the person who is asking for packaging
>> costs in the first place.
>>
>> 1. How much are we talking about here?
>>
>> 2. Of course, any price is worth it if someone is willing to pay it,
>> but how to determine if the amount being asked in #1 above is
>> commensurate with the value of the product being considered, and is in
>> line with the value of similar products?
>>
>> 3. If no one comes up with the packaging costs, would you not put it
>> into open source, or would you still put it, but just "dump the code
>> into sourceforge" and let Darwin take care of it?
>>
>> 4. If you do put it in open source without any packaging costs being
>> paid to you, would you be losing out on any particular revenue other
>> than the time spent to put it into open source?
>>
>>
>>
>>> Daniel
>>> --
>>> Daniel Morissette
>>> http://www.mapgears.com/
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>
> --
> Cameron Shorter
> Geospatial Systems Architect
> Tel: +61 (0)2 8570 5050
> Mob: +61 (0)419 142 254
>
> Think Globally, Fix Locally
> Geospatial Solutions enhanced with Open Standards and Open Source
> http://www.lisasoft.com
>
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