Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!snorkelwacker!bloom-beacon!odi.COM!bob
From: bob@odi.COM (Bob Miner)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: Re: strange support of OSF/Motif
Message-ID: <9002170810.AA00199@hendrix.odi.com>
Date: 17 Feb 90 08:10:53 GMT
References: <3780@paperboy.OSF.ORG>
Sender: daemon@athena.mit.edu (Mr Background)
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 48


     >By the way, there was some discussion in this group a while ago about
     >the OSF actively discouraging people from reporting bugs and fixes to
     >Motif code here.  I wonder if that is related at all to this support
     >policy; perhaps they want to prevent people from helping each other
     >in a free forum such as this, to try to force them to pay for support
     >from OSF?

     The reason we discourage people from reporting bugs and fixes in this
     public forum is that OSF/Motif is not public domain software. Our 
     lawyers inform us that, should source to Motif appear in public
     forums, Motif will move (against our will) into the public domain.  

     						thanks very much

     UUCP:  ...uunet!osf.org!chinn                        david m chinn
     ARPA:  chinn@osf.org                           Open Software Foundation

     DISCLAIMER: I'm not even sure I agree with my *own* opinions!

Personally, I find this very sad.  Is the minimal amount of revenue OSF
receives for Motif (it can't be more than several hundred thousand dollars
per year) worth the bad feelings generated by the above policy?  Contrast
this with the X Consortium which, to the extent I understand it, is
supported solely by Consortium members but distributes its software for
a nominal amount and actively encourages public discussion of problems and
fixes.

After all, what is the primary goal of OSF - to create and support standards
or to directly generate profits?  I'd suggest that OSF members (DEC, HP, IBM
and others) are taking a short-term view if they believe OSF should be
generating profits.

As someone else said, if Motif weren't the only game in town, it'd be time
to look elsewhere.  It sure makes Sun and XView look good.

Of course, all this is my personal opinion, for what it's worth... (probably
not much).

Bob Miner

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