Re: Inviting questions from SPI

On Thu, 2007-07-12 at 16:35 -0400, Alvaro Herrera wrote:
> Tim Post wrote:
>
> > Do you feel resources should be put into finding new and promising
> > projects prior to 'chicken hawkers' approaching?
> >
> > How do we lure developers from closing off with "as a service" products
> > that can be offered free but aren't F/LOSS which seems to be the candy
> > the 'chicken hawkers' have to offer?
>
> For those of us not in the know, could you clarify what a "chicken
> hawker" is? In Wikipedia I find two definitions (one related to
> homosexuality and the other to war stance in a politician), neither of
> which seem to make any sense in this context.

Sorry, the term is meant most literally. Someone established who picks
up projects before patches start mixing and it becomes a service instead
of a F/LOSS project.

SAAS (Software as a service) industry wants everything common on a
desktop served via browser and its free software developers who get
recruited the most. The term originated on a list (I honestly thought it
was more well known) when developers would get approached 'on the side'
to see if they were receptive to selling. Someone called them 'chicken
hawking' and the term propagated.

This (in their ideal world) is less hands working on desktop apps and
more hands working on web 2.0 monstrosities that people pay monthly to
use under non-disclosure agreements.

A project I was working on didn't go because the guys developing the UI
got fed up that we wouldn't hold back the source, because of incoming
offers.

I guess you might have to work in the hosting industry to appreciate the
problem.

Thanks anyway,
--Tim