[Info-vax] OT: The New Face of HP

[ChrisQ]

Arne Vajhøj wrote:

> A volunteer is doing what he/she consider useful and like to
> do for fun.
> 
> If you want him/her to do something your way and/or on your
> schedule, then you will have to pay.
> 
> Volunteers are only volunteering to do what they want to do
> not what you want to do.
> 
> Arne
> 

Agreed up to a point, but the open source movement is not about side 
shuffling volunteer maintenance to your employer (third party) as paid 
work. I would see that as a clear conflict of interest between the ethos 
of open source and business. The expression "bait and switch" fits well 
here and not something that you would expect from any company with a 
sense of ethics.

It doesn't logically follow that a volunteer maintainer should expect 
payment to his or her employer for bug fixes that would normally be done 
as and when time allows. If there is a demand to get the work done fast, 
then expect to pay, but that doesn't seem to be the case in this 
instance. The op seems to have been going through the usual os process 
of bug reporting, with the maintainer using his position to tout for 
business for hp. Clear conflict of interest, imnsho...

Regards,

Chris