Checking in on CodePlex Nov 6, 2009, 03 :04 UTC (2 Talkback[s]) (3902 reads) (Other stories by Andy Updegrove)
"Paul Gillin: I want to ask about this role of the corporate sponsor. What is your thinking on how much control the corporate sponsor has over that gallery they are underwriting?
Sam Ramji: You can’t expect an Open Source project to thrive or to have your contributions accepted or endorsed by that community if they come with a lot of conditions.
"Part of what we will be able to do for corporations that sponsor galleries is to help them understand the nature of influence rather than control and how to support projects that may, at some points in time, compete with some of that company’s interests - to help corporate sponsors understand that their broader interests may be well served by that same project, even if it doesn’t feel immediately natural at the very beginning. That certainly is the journey that I had the privilege to see Microsoft go through over the last few years as the company began to understand how to work with, rather than through, Open Source projects. Sponsorship will have to be along the lines of encouragement than seen as a direct approach."
