Bacula-users

Re: [Bacula-users] [Bacula-devel] Bacula Project will Die

2010-11-05 09:51:57
Subject: Re: [Bacula-users] [Bacula-devel] Bacula Project will Die
From: Kern Sibbald <kern AT sibbald DOT com>
To: Heitor Medrado de Faria <heitor AT bacula.com DOT br>
Date: Fri, 5 Nov 2010 14:52:32 +0100
On Friday 05 November 2010 14:08:37 Heitor Medrado de Faria wrote:
> Guys,
>
> Each new Bacula Enterprise feature, like the: New GUI Configurator,
> makes me feel that Bacula project will die.
> It's very frustrating that a project that become a huge success being a
> free software, is being destroyed like that.
> I acknowledge that Kern and other developers had lots of development
> work on Bacula - and there is not huge contribution. But creating a paid
> fork is not the way of get compensation.

Bacula Systems has financed additional features and has created an Enterprise 
version that is available to subscribers.  

All community contributions including most Bacula Systems contributions go 
into the community version which is available to everyone.

For two years we were putting everything into the community version, but the 
company will not survive that is very clear -- Bacula Systems spends more 
than CHF 50,000 / month in salaries and other costs.  Very few people or 
companies are willing to finance this for something that is free.  

You complain, but you suggest no viable alternatives. I nolonger want to be 
the only person contributing most to Bacula and fixing most of the bugs. So 
If Bacula Systems fails, the project will most likely die, stagnate, or the 
code reliablity will become so bad in a few years that no one will want to 
use it.

I have spent 15 years contributing everything I do to Open Source, 10 of those 
years to Bacula. Other people have done more, but for me that is a lot!  All 
the code I continue t contribute is Open Source, but I choose not to give all 
of it to everyone today, because I want to see Bacula continue -- the only 
way to do so is to ensure that Bacula Systems continues.  Both Bacula Systems 
and I could make the code proprietary as do virtually all other projects that 
include support.  We have chosen to continue writing Open Source, which has a 
lot of risks.

I find it ungrateful of you to complain about a not getting everything you 
want for free -- especially when Bacula Systems has contributed *far* more 
than the community in creating version 5.0.x.  One of the projects I am 
working on for the next community release is restarting failed jobs.  When I 
hear statements and complaints such as yours, it makes me wonder why I 
shouldn't just put that code only into the Enterprise version.  

Had you attended the recent Bacula conference, you would have had ample time 
to discuss these points and to hear what I and other users say.

If you want these features, why don't you submit the code for them or 
stimulate the community to do so.  Anything that comes from the community 
will be available to the community, and this is generally after we invest a 
significant amount of time correcting the code, debugging it, testing it, 
releasing it, documenting the new features, and then later supporting it with 
bug fixes.  I have the feeling that most people are unaware of the amount of 
work that goes into creating and supporting Bacula -- even with features 
contributed by the community. 

The Bacula project will only die if Bacula Systems fails and the community 
does not make more contributions.

So please stop complaining, and be happy that Bacula Systems is contributing 
to the Bacula project, and that all of Bacula Systems code is Open Source, 
even if everyone doesn't get everything for free.  This is far better than us 
taking the code proprietary as other projects are doing.  Continuing to 
complain may well contribute to the Bacula project dying. 


Kern

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