There's something more than ironic when the report on the Web of an Open Source Think Tank is a .pdf. But somehow not surprising when those attending included "more than 100 open source leaders" comprised of "more than 35 CEOs, 16 CIOs/CTOs of Global 2000 organizations, and leading attorneys and venture capitalists". Hey, if you're going to think in an open source tank, why not invite the leaders of actual open source development projects? If open source had been left up to the kind of folks bragged about in that last paragraph, it never would have happened. Nor would free software before it — or many of the open, free and interoperable networks, components and systems on which our civilization now depends. The report is an interesting window into the minds of the kinds of leaders who were invited — and important reading for exactly that reason. But I'm also sure that having development project leaders and participants present would have at least dialed down some of the concerns that were expressed about open source. Here's an abridged list, quoted from the piece:

• Monetizing open source remains a key challenge for vendors small and large.
• Another key challenge is balancing the needs of customers versus the interests of the developer community.
• Open source licensing is a big source of confusion due to the number of open source licenses, and a lack of understanding on how licenses impact business, as well as how licenses interact with one another.
• GPLv3 is a big concern for commercial users of open source. Ensuring that key GPL-licensed software such as Linux does not splinter into v2 and v3 camps is important for users, developers, and the entire open source community.
• A perceived lack of returns in software startups, due largely to the impact of open source, is reducing venture investment in the software space.
• OSS tends to fragment easily, and the lack of standardization is a major burden for ISVs and customers.
• The number of core open source developers is not keeping pace with industry growth.
• Additionally, there is a perception that companies are ÒbuyingÓ core committers through ÒhiringÓ (i.e. paying a salary to continue working on their open source projects) and other types of financial arrangements.
• Universities are increasingly graduating developers that are familiar with open source technologies and development methodologies. However a concern was expressed that due to the popularity of open source development at universities, graduates may be lacking key skills such as sound architecture, defining customer needs and product management.
• Legal and operational risks remain significant barriers to OSS adoption.
• Finally, OSS and proprietary models continue to converge.
• There is an inherent tension between releasing oneÕs IP as open source, and making money from that IP.
• Most participants agreed that today, proprietary vendors retain advantages over many open source vendors.
• Everyone agreed that most companies will implement hybrid models.

To be fair, I was invited but didn't attend. In retrospect, I regret it. And some open source development project leaders were there: Marten Mickos of Still, there's always next year. This was the second Think Tank. If Olliance holds a third, I'd like to suggest that leaders of