From 9339c77d2881d29df04488d2d796c2db11c1fc73 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Thierry Carrez Date: Sat, 10 Nov 2018 13:50:55 +0100 Subject: [PATCH] Bad idea not contributing back local changes Add a paragraph about how it's a bad long-term strategy to hold to local changes and not contributing them back upstream. --- docs/opensource.rst | 9 +++++++++ 1 file changed, 9 insertions(+) diff --git a/docs/opensource.rst b/docs/opensource.rst index 5ff2421..0f0b54b 100644 --- a/docs/opensource.rst +++ b/docs/opensource.rst @@ -95,6 +95,15 @@ successfully demonstrate compatibility by passing a suite of interoperability tests, run against the public API of the product. In this way, the scope of modifications is limited. +Furthermore, in the case of fast-evolving infrastructure software, it's worth +noting that keeping local changes private is not a great long-term strategy. +Maintaining a delta between code running in production and fast-evolving +upstream open source code is very costly, and gets more difficult as time +passes. Technical debt adds up quickly to a point where paying it back is +impossible. Engaging upstream to propose your local improvements and finally +getting most of them in the open source project itself is the only sane +way forward over the long run. + References ---------- .. [#OSI] https://opensource.org/licenses/alphabetical