The Role of Users in Open Source Projects

While consumers and the open source community don’t interact often, users are important to projects because users test software, spread the word, motivate developers, lend credibility, contribute financially and participate in users groups. Take GNOME as an example. The main reason consumers and the community don’t interact is because most users, whether they are using a desktop, a netbook or a cell phone running GNOME Mobile technologies, get their technology from a vendor, not the GNOME community. Many consumers do not even know that they are using GNOME. They might be listening to music with Banshee, editing their photos with Gimp and managing their finances with Gnucash and have no idea that the underlying technology is GNOME. When it comes to interacting with the GNOME community, the user first has to become aware of the community. When most users encounter a problem, they end up on a GNU/Linux distribution site. Or, if they were using a Garmin 880 GPS, they call Garmin, not GNOME. Come learn why users are important to an open source project and how they can be more involved.