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Old 24th September 2014
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jggimi jggimi is offline
More noise than signal
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: USA
Posts: 7,977
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Straying off topic. Ocicat, you may want to break this discussion into a separate thread.

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s_d., there are two factors that lead to the need for OpenBSD users to have either an appropriate-to-needs level of self-sufficiency or a third party commercial support agreement. One is operational, the other, cultural.

  1. The size of the OpenBSD community of users is relatively small, and there is an even smaller community of OpenBSD developers (Project members).
  2. The goals of the Project, which are to satisfy the needs of its own members -- the developers. We users get to go along for the ride, if we like what is offered.
From which, I see these results. What follows is all my own opinion, of course.

  • Hand-holding, by the Project, is effectively non-existent. Instead, the members spend a significant amount of energy on official documentation (man pages, the FAQ), and some also publish their own blogs or are editors for submissions to the OpenBSD Journal, which while unofficial is a juried resource.
  • The Project directs new users to the OpenBSD-newbies mailing list, a low volume third party resource managed through SFOBUG.
  • We are newbie-focused here, and another third party resource, but as you have already seen the number of questions posted and the number of us who answer them are both very small.
  • Users are not members, and have no say in Project direction except through electing whether or not to fund the Project through its various channels: CD purchases, direct donations, or donation to the OpenBSD Foundation.
  • Whenever users find gaps in capabilities, features, or functionality, their submissions of software to address these gaps are welcome. However, suggestions to the Project that it should address these gaps -- without any user-developed software submitted -- are always unwelcome. Reviled, actually.
  • User submissions to the Project may or may not be adopted, and if adopted may be with some degree of change. Or, interested Project members may recommend further development. User submissions were the first steps along the path by which most of the developers on the project became developers.
With that as background, end-user submissions of new ports and upgraded ports of third party applications are a vital component of the OpenBSD ecosystem. The project has three FAQ documents to assist with ports tree operation, port testing, and port development, and it operates the ports@ mailing list, which is dedicated to port submissions, testing, and evaluation.

New and upgraded port testing can be done by any user who has obtained sufficient skill to install a -current snapshot and can build ports. They do not need to be application designers or developers. Testing of ports is required before they are committed to the tree, and this is one of the easier ways to donate to the community.

Last edited by jggimi; 24th September 2014 at 12:54 PM. Reason: typos, clarity
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