"Joe" == Joe Cooper <joe@enthought.com> writes:
Joe> As soon as money changes hands, no matter how cheap we sell Joe> those CDs or how largely a "No Warranty and No Support" Joe> statement is printed on the label, folks who buy it will Joe> start calling us and emailing us directly, asking questions Joe> and expecting answers. And if something doesn't work right Joe> someone will want it fixed, NOW! It sounds ridiculous to Joe> most folks (me too), but I've been involved in Open Source Joe> software on a lot of fronts and I /know/ it would happen. In Joe> fact, the most demanding users are nearly always the ones Joe> who've given the least to a project, in terms of effort or Joe> money. Not that I'm bitter or anything. ;-) It doesn't sound ridiculous to me. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if you sometimes get a similar reaction from folks you provide the goods to for free. End users struggle with things that are obvious to developers, and in the process can shed light on what is wrong with the software or documentation. If it's worth releasing, it's probably worth supporting. My experience with enthought python is that it works amazingly well, presumably because you've configured and tested the hell out of it. So the support commitment would be manageable, I'm guessing. Sure there will always be some crank who'll make your life miserable, but it might be worth it. "the most demanding users are nearly always the ones who've given the least to a project" (amen, but not naming any names) JDH