@gabek

Exactly. You hit the nail on the head. The gap between devs and people using the software may grow further over time. Demands being placed on how the software works, not understanding project decisions, and entitlement where it is not due. It puts a heave strain on the maintainers.

OTOH those using the software also put a stake in it. They depend on it for its functionality and can't just fork when they don't like project direction.

#SocialCoding wants to diminish these issues.

@gabek @humanetech I was thinking about this the other day. I wonder how we might bridge those gaps and create a kind of open future where the barrier to entry becomes small enough that non-developers feel comfortable using it? Maybe it’s as simple as a fully featured communication system for any kinds of digital comms: sending words, files, documents, sounds, videos, organizing spaces and channels…

@gabek @humanetech really? Surely the variability among the various proprietary tools communities foist upon their participants have at least the variability of the FOSS options. A keen community participant will welcome the opportunity to experience a new (and potentially better) tool that offers non-technical benefits (like lack of lock-in, scalability without increased cost, data sovereignty, etc.). Seems to me the real problem is communities that force contributors to use proprietary tools.