Hello Al, maybe I read your comment wrong {OpenACS version1 is SloanSpace version2}, but until very recently OpenACS has evolved quite nicely without SloanSpace
A gentle reminder. OpenACS wouldn't exist without a substantial code base that was
funded. As the current project manager I'm perhaps most keenly aware that while Greylock's $38M didn't buy software perfection, and while we were left with a great deal of clean-up to do (most of which has yet to be done), and while we did port to PostgreSQL, the bald fact of the matter is that 90% of the code base is ACS 4.
Where would we be today without that funded code base?
How have people come to this fantasy conclusion that OpenACS 4 is due solely to volunteer effort? We had the code base, bought and paid for by Your DotCom Dollars. Some folks (including myself) are volunteers. Others have been funded to work on OpenACS at least part time. So the 10% of the code base that's ours is partially, but not purely a volunteer effort and the other 90% not remotely a volunteer effort.
As to success ... have you all forgotten how much bitching there's been at how long it's taken us to get the first release rolled out, and how buggy it still is, and how much improvement it still needed? Are you aware of how little work is being done on the toolkit that's not being directly funded by someone?
"Hey, Musea, where's ETP2?"
Sorry, we haven't found anyone to pay for it, can't get it done.
"Is the bugtracker going to evolve into a new SDM and support Oracle?"
Well, it would be nice if there were some funding ...
I'm not trying to pick on anyone (despite naming Musea, that's just an example that came to mind). My point is that as a project at large we don't really accomplish all that much without funding.
Open Force has done a great job on dotLRN. Does anyone here believe they would've created this application if they weren't being paid?
Funding for Open Source work can only help, not hurt. While MIT (and most likely the consortium) have relatively narrow needs and will therefore fund quite narrowly, the fact is that it can only help us.
Assuming success is the goal
If success isn't the goal, would somebody please tell me what it is?
