01693nas a2200133   4500008004100000022001400041245006700055210006600122260004200188520125400230100002001484700001901504856003601523       2010                        eng d  a1913-610200aDifferentiating Community from Customers in an F/LOSS Business0 aDifferentiating Community from Customers in an FLOSS Business  aOttawabTalent First Networkc10/20103 aWhen software companies using free/libre open source software (F/LOSS) in their product and service offerings attempt to manage the customer pipeline and develop a community, problems may arise. Project communities and customer pipelines are not the same thing, although some participants belong to both groups. This creates confusion in the business and tension with the community.

F/LOSS communities have been on the rise for the past two decades. Companies began to form around F/LOSS projects in the early 1990s, with some creating their own F/LOSS projects and some wrapping themselves around existing projects. This has created tension between company managers who are trying to earn profits from software that is "available for free," and from developers in communities that do not necessarily want to create software for someone else's corporate gain. This happens regardless of whether the company created the F/LOSS-licensed project itself, or participates in external communities around other projects, or both.

This article demonstrates that separating the concepts of community and customer, and of project and product, allows a business to manage clearly both challenges of developing an engaged community and maximizing profits.1 aAslett, Matthew1 aWalli, Stephen  uhttp://timreview.ca/article/385