[Opensim-dev] The Future of Open Simulator(?) (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Shaun T. Erickson]

I see very little of that happening (except, maybe, the forks). All 
these (non-core-dev) people writing to the list, with their ideas of a 
road map and where it should go, seem to forget that unless it tickles 
the fancy/curiosity of a core developer, or helps their bottom line, 
financially, or is submitted by someone else willing to support it and 
the core devs think it's useful and won't conflict with what they want 
to do, it isn't happening. All you're doing is engaging in wishful thinking.

This is not a product, no matter how we might wish it was. It's a 
research project, for some, and the core of something that others make 
money from. Aside from bug fixes (which they've always been happy to 
take, if done properly), if it doesn't move either of those goals 
forward, it's unlikely to happen.

I'm not a developer (I'm a Systems Administrator), and I most certainly 
do not speak for any of the developers. They may disagree with my 
assessment, and I hope they will not take offense at what I've said. My 
comments are my own, based on hanging out with them for the past six 
years, watching, learning and enjoying the use of what they have 
produced (which is, to be fair, impressive, to say the least). I might 
wish a lot of things were different, but, you know what - they don't 
work for me (which is good, because I know myself well enough to know 
I'd be a terrible boss). I look forward to whatever else they come up 
with, but I don't for a minute think that anyone can tell them what they 
should or ought to be doing (well, you can, but that doesn't mean 
they'll listen).

I do think there's two direct ways you can influence things though - 1) 
write 3rd party modules to add functionality you want or that 
changes/overrides existing behavior. As long as you stick to the core 
framework, so that your module will work with core OpenSim, you have 
free reign to do whatever you want, and 2) as some have done, pay 
someone to implement/fix what you want.

I suppose there is a third way - fork it and do whatever you and other 
like-minded folks want to. But this has been tried before, with only a 
modicum of success. It *can* be done, but it's a tough row to hoe.

-ste

On 8/16/15 7:44 PM, M.E. Verhagen wrote:
> In 5 years time I see ...
>  opensim having it's own viewers
> There will be no compatibility left with SL
> It will have compatibility with other virtual worlds :)
> The core will be relative bug free
> There will be a decent road map
> Opensim will be the apache of the virtual worlds.
> There will be many forks of opensim.
> There will be providers offering opensim with a one click install
> Gadgets like the hmd devices and 3D cams will change the virtual
> landscape forever. Opensim will adopt these changes and thrive on it.