[sldev] Proprietary dependencies [2] (Re: Compile as installer)

[Rob Lanphier]

On 1/25/08 1:39 PM, Jason Giglio wrote:
> Rob Lanphier wrote:
>> base to provide the best features for the price, regardless of 
>> whether or not it passes an open source purity test.
>
> The best feature is the ability for open source people to work on the 
> viewer, unencumbered by these license issues.  The price for that is 
> getting rid of proprietary dependencies.
>
> It's a pretty simple cost-benefit analysis.  How much have these 
> proprietary issues cost you in terms of development you missed out on?
>
> It's hard to quantify but I know I've had at least several clients 
> back out after hearing there would be no way for them to legally 
> distribute a client I develop for them without hobbling it in terms of 
> features.

If you were telling them there was no way for them to legally distribute 
a client you develop for them, you didn't give them the whole story.  
You probably should have told them "you will need to get a license from 
Linden Lab to distribute the client".  That's a very different thing.

That said, I agree that there's a cost-benefit analysis, but I don't see 
it as simple.  First you'd need to quantify the development, and then 
the value of that development to us and to residents as a whole.  It's 
not entirely clear that the delta in 2007 was so large that we missed 
out on that much, especially given the fact that early on, we weren't 
particularly well equipped to deal with a large influx of contribution.

At a gut level, I'd much prefer to get rid of proprietary dependencies.  
If nothing else, it makes my job easier, but I also philosophically 
prefer that we remove them sooner rather than later.  I just don't feel 
like I yet have a watertight business and community case to make that we 
should perhaps take steps backwards in features and functionality in 
order to get rid of those dependencies.

Rob


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