Successful Open Source

I view the Eclipse Foundation like a standards organization in many ways. Both are typically non-profit. Both typically have 10% or less of their membership doing 90% or more of the work. Both are providing code or standards that can benefit the community that is using them; however, it is pretty much the norm that a small group benefits the majority. It has been this way ever since the founding of these types of organizations. I agree that it should not be this way.So the question we really need to ask is what makes a successful open source or open standards project? What is the actual goal? Is it to benefit the community as a whole, or only the members that pay for it? If the latter, what is the incentive then for the community to contribute?InfoWeek in 2007 ran a article titled "How to Tell the Open Source Winners from the Losers". The same six sections in the article apply to open standards as well as to open source. In particular is page 3: "No Community, No Project". It's support from a user community and not necessarily a commercial interest that tends to drive successful open source/open standards projects. In summary are these points:Community Support not Commercial AgendasActivity and Transparency at all levels (planning, discussions, support, etc.)Focusing on the Big Picture (i.e. keeping the communities needs over individual needs).The community that uses the code or standard that is produced is going to expect to have support. What you produce is going to be a product. Whether that is a framework, a working IDE, a RCP application, a widget, a set of data standards, or specifications. In the eclipse world, the community has come to expect a IDE, in particular a Java IDE. In the standards world, this is the specification or data standards that are produced. To me the key to a successful project is not necessarily the commercial interests or funding, but the interest of the community. The community is what will make your project successful in the long term. Nuture it, encourage the participation...and most importantly INTERACT with it.