"Starter boxes...".
Well ten years ago a software package with the power of ACS was $50,000 for a 40 user license plus $100K for a HP-950 to run it on!
I am a parent of a handicapped child and I look at ACS part of a solution to many of the agonizing, time consuming parts of dealing with school, therapists, doctors, appointments, government, insurance and so on.
I look at OpenACS not as a "box" but as an information movement machine that that I hope to bring to bear on real world big problems.
Part of the psychology of creating a climate for adoption of ACS needs to be a way to find a listing with a lot of people offering to set up and support ACS systems.
For instance, I want the health insurance people to implement inquiries into health insurance coverage... and the way to do it ought to be with inquiry messages encrypted pretty much along the lines Phil Greenspun outlined for how middle parties should encrypt and forward credit card sales inquiries.
So I would say: Offer boxes YES! and use ACS itself as a tool to create and format and publicize just what you have in mind and how much you charge.
And as you do it (and I might too) fearlessly speak back to the community about your developing experience. The more developers the better!
