ReiserFS creator arrested over missing woman

[bmcculley at rcn.com]

On Wed, 11 Oct 2006,  "Ben Scott" <dragonhawk at gmail.com>  
wrote:
>
>On 10/11/06, Bayard Coolidge <n1ho at yahoo.com> wrote:
>> As pointed out in other fora, this means that progress on the
>> Reiser4 filesystem, as well as support for earlier work, will be
>> somewhat jeopardized.
>
>  Fortunately, the nature of Free(dom) Software means that software
>only dies if there isn't sufficient interest in it.  Anyone can take
>over the code, [...]

Problem is, *anyone* can do so, competence not withstanding. The community peer pressure may select out incompetents in the long run, but it doesn't bode well for stability in the short run.  At the very least there is a risk of discontinuity or lack of direction and progress during the transition.


>  This is in stark contrast to what happens when a commercial
>organization disolves -- or even just drops support for a product.  In
>those situations, the only thing one can do is undertake a (typically
>expensive and painful) forced migration to a different product.

True, and part of the due diligence that should be performed in selecting commercial vendors is their stability and responsibility regarding support plans and survival.  There are risks in that area, different risks in the FOSS world.  Nothing is risk free.

>
>> ... all we can do is speculate on the facts of the case.
>

Actually, after chasing the previously posted link to <http://cbs5.com/topstories/local_story_256204954.html> speculating on the other cases (Sturgeon v. Reiser and countersuit) seems much more interesting, certainly more salacious and even suggestive (of motive, that is).

-lbm