On 1 Nov 2006 at 20:36, Stefan 'Kaishakunin' Schumach wrote:
> Also sprach Peter Eisentraut (peter_e@gmx.net)
> > Robert Treat wrote:
> > > ISTM expanding the user base is one of the best things we can do for
> > > our existing users.
> >
> > Why?
>
> Today's new user might be tomorrow's new developer.
Subsitute contributor and it's spot on.
Take the Bacula project for example. When I joined, nearly three
years ago, we had relatively few developers. To attract more
deveopers, I started writing about Bacula, handing out brochures at
conferences, and giving talks to whoever would listen. We grew.
With more users comes more people with an itch to scratch. It is
those itches that move a project forward.
Why does Bacula have a PostgreSQL plug-in? Because I wanted it. And
I wrote it. When I started with Bacula, I was just a user. In
general, people becomes users, then they become contributors.
Take FreeBSD for example. I started off as a user in 1998. Eight
years later, I write two very popular websites (FreshPorts, FreeBSD
Diary), and run a very successful BSD conference (BSDCan).[1]
More users mean more resources to draw from. When people get
enthusiastic about something, they have energy to contribute. In
general, people do not go out of their way to contribute to projects
they have no interest in.
Also note: projects do not live on development alone, not that I
think anyone was saying that. I just thought it needed saying.
[1 -apologies for the blatent self promotion, but take the point, not
not the bragging]
--
Dan Langille : Software Developer looking for work
my resume: http://www.freebsddiary.org/dan_langille.php