The sentiment is admirable, but hardly, I think, enough of a reason to continue fighting against the odds. The only implied answer is that an unknown number of people - probably less than a dozen - do not want to see the project close, especially not on their watch. When I suggested on an OpenOffice mailing list that question needed to be answered, one or two replied that the question was irrelevant, and a few others thought the question worth asking - but no one could come up with an answer.
And I would be missing the point if I didn't realize that one benefit of free software is that people can work on whatever they choose.Īll the same, I keep asking myself what OpenOffice can do that LibreOffice cannot do better, and I keep coming up blank. I am aware, as well, of the bad blood between the two projects, and I imagine that OpenOffice members must pride themselves on being 's direct legal successor, and on having survived the past six years with a constant scarcity of resources. I understand that the developers who wanted a faster development pace and distrusted Oracle acted hastily in founding LibreOffice, even if they have succeeded brilliantly.
I understand the historic reasons why OpenOffice and LibreOffice exist. All that is left now is to shut down with whatever grace can be mustered. Yet now as OpenOffice tries to revive itself, my main thought is:Ĭould someone please put OpenOffice out of its misery? The time for heroic measures is past. Over the years, I have written dozens of articles about, OpenOffice, and LibreOffice, and, although I titled my book Designing with LibreOffice, it includes some mention of OpenOffice, too. In theory, I should be all over the story about Apache OpenOffice's struggle for survival.