Communities Vs. Teams: Open Source Needs Both

"Some of this thinking arose from talk about some of the gloomier prospects for MySQL, speculation which goes as far back as Sun's purchase of the company. What good is the software without the team of people who built it? It's difficult to replace the synergy you get from such people (and I hate that word, but it's really the only one that fits) with folks who have been largely on the outside looking in.

"Likewise, you also can't replace the outside community of users and contributors with an inside team. The perspective you get from the community often isn't anything like what you get from the core developers -- and that's precisely why it's so valuable. Each sees things the other doesn't."

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