I seem to end up as the guy who actually doesn't release anything. I create a lot of (open source) stuff, but I cannot get any further than alpha releases (ehh SNAPSHOT releases). Never releasing anything is, viewed from my position, has a pretty clear reason : If you release you have to be prepared to actually support things (at least that's the way I feel about it). I don't mind giving support, but having to support your software, prevents you from doing actual development and making progress (although it may vary on the tool you are writing).
Since we are talking opensource you would expect that a good reason for releasing is that other people may get involved in the development effort and this way you can do more and get better products.
Yep it COULD. If it doesn't you have to support the stuff on your own, for a system that you are not yet ready to support.
I don't write open source specifically to make other people happy, just to make myself happy. I just try to solve problems I hit and if the result will help other people, I am happy for them.
The reason why I still choose the open source model for my projects depends on where I hit the problem. Open source is an excellent way to make sure that your investment in building the tool that will solve problems in your day job, will not be lost when you eg switch jobs (I tend to put a lot of "spare" time for my day job to do stuff like that).
In short : If I am going to release something , I am prepared to support it and I am very happy with the product.
Posted by mvdb at December 17, 2004 12:38 PM