Re: [Fsfe-uk] Free software book?

[Rob Myers]

Mark Preston wrote:

> I wonder if you would care to expand on what Raymond is ignorant of
> regarding building cathedrals and operating bazaars, and why the
> "Cathedral and Bazaar" allegory wrt free software is by implication
> flawed. Having only bought things in Bazaars, and only visited a few
> Cathedrals my ignorance in this area is quite broad.

Raymond presents cathedrals as monolithic and bazaars as freewheeling.

Mediaeval Cathedrals were often multi-generational projects with each 
generation building on the work of the last. They are a framework within 
which people could do something amazing, architecturally speaking. A 
strong sense of purpose and a supportive framework can work wonders for 
individual talent.

Bazaars occupy a specific social space and are regulated by set rules. 
Everyone knows how to haggle.

The C&B allegory is flawed because Raymond has started from a mild 
dislike of GNU cut with too much Ayn Rand and created a metaphor that, 
although easy to understand, discards too much information. And the 
market needs information to work efficiently. ;-)

- Rob.