I’m sure you’ve seen the news:
I’m excited today to announce that we are also releasing the ASP.NET MVC source code under the Microsoft Public License (MS-PL). The MS-PL is an OSI-approved open source license. The MS-PL contains no platform restrictions and provides broad rights to modify and redistribute the source code.
Phil, Hanselman, and ScottGu each wrote a bit about it – so did Miguel de Icaza (Gnome/Mono guy). It’s really quite an amazing thing if you think about it: Microsoft released a major framework component under and Open Source license (Ms-PL is recognized by OSI as true Open Source).
Craziness. It reminds me of a blog post I wrote when I joined Microsoft, and I nice guy named Christian Convey gave me a quick “head’s up”:
Rob, you should realize that regardless of how nice the work is or how nice your immediate coworkers are, the organization you’re supporting with your work is rotten to the core. You should not feel good about supporting them. I encourage you to dream big in terms of how you put your talents to use. Don’t settle for this. Life is too short, and there are too many people in need.
Feelings clearly (still) run deep, and it’s a mountain Microsoft needs to climb. This happened before my tenure and, to be honest, it doesn’t involve me really. What involves me is what we can do from here, and what’s possible. If I dwell on what came before. well honestly what good does it do anyone?
To be perfectly clear – I had nothing to do with this. This whole thing was all Phil/Hanselman/ScottGu. Well mostly ScottGu. But I like to think that “the mindset” is starting to settle in – that perhaps ScottGu, with some extra (loud) voices behind him, will keep making these kinds of decisions and pushing them forward.
This is what I do every day at work. If you don’t believe me – ask this guy. I’m not sure a single team meeting goes by where I rat-hole a meeting or throw a small fit about some community thing or another (I can be difficult to work with – but I think that’s why I got hired 
. The good news is he’s completely (well, almost) with me on most of this stuff – but I have to remind him anyway cause that’s just me. and I like to see his French composure unravel.
I feel good about supporting this company – because they listen, and because I still work here. Because I can throw fits, and because I work with people who are committed to shaking things up and bringing about some really, really good things. But it doesn’t happen over night – it takes patience, prodding, some slap-n-tickle, and little sweet talk, and eventually a gentle push (or in my case a small tantrum). As my old boss Shawn Burke put it:
It’s like rolling a bubble – slow and steady my friend.
This, from a man who took 8 years to get the source pushed for the .NET framework (Shawn was the guy who thought of and pushed this whole thing).
Congratulations to ScottGu, Scott H, and Phil on this bit of work – you guys make me very very proud >.
