Infobright Blog

The community associated with an Open Source project is a wonderful thing. This was the part I think I really underestimated. Sure, people post questions and we scurry to provide fast answers. We get questions we don’t expect which teaches us something new. We find out how the product works in various scenarios and applications. We get complaints and grips about this and that. On some days, it’s a challenge to keep on top of all the postings and conversations.

However, there is something so energizing about it all. People all over the world are commenting. You just can’t get that level interaction between your users and the development team. It’s incredibility encouraging when someone praises the product. It’s even more fun when the community starts posting answers to other community member’s questions. It shows their commitment to the product, as they want to share their success with others and help them also be successful.

Too often the engineers are left in the back room, to play with their computers and pump out the next version. They never hear from the users unless there is a major problem. But with open source, they have a new home focused on them and their work. The inspiration this creates simply can’t be replicated.