Right to Reply

Apache recently accepted Synapse as an incubated project. The news has been announced in a press release distributed by WSO2. The press covered this announcement.

There's no denying an increasing number of people in the community are concerned about the way open source is used in tactical moves that may jeopardize the long term sustainability of some projects. This is in no way specific to Apache nor to Synapse. Organizations such as Apache, CodeHaus, Eclipse, ObjectWeb, OSDL should address these questions with the greatest care. We as nonprofits have the duty to act responsibly for the common good and to promote cooperation.

For lack of clear public policies to govern collaboration between organizations, any apparent discrepancy between the agendas of any two organizations can be interpreted as the early symptoms of a major crisis.

Apache and ObjectWeb have long built good relations. But good relations don't sell paper (nor hits), and some magazines bet on controversy to catch the reader's attention. Why did Apache start the Synapse project while ObjectWeb was already working on similar matters? Turning this question into a cross-organization squabble indeed can produce highly inflamatory papers.

In recent articles I've been quoted on this topic -- and too often misquoted. It was not the first time, it won't be the last. When it starts, it spreads like wildfire. Please keep this in mind when you read stories about Synapse and Celtix.