----Original Message----
>From: Scott Robert Ladd
>Sent: 14 June 2005 15:51
> In many ways, I see GCC as similar in model to the Red Cross. You have a
> paid staff that handles the day-to-day business,
Really? "GCC" has "paid staff"? Who are they? How much does "GCC" pay
them? Where's the web page listing the vacancies?
> and a horde of volunteers who do much of the grunt work. The Red Cross
provides
> training and mentoring to bring people along. GCC and other free
> software projects would do well to consider how non-technical volunteer
> organizations succeed.
The Red Cross has, as you mentioned, paid staff, and indeed has other
things, such as a "budget" with which to pay them, and a "organisation", and
"premises". As far as I'm aware, gcc has none of those things, and although
the SC could perhaps be considered the nearest thing to an embodiment of the
"organisation" of gcc, I still think the analogy is rendered invalid by this
lack of similarity, and any lesson that could be learnt from it rendered
valueless.
Perhaps I've missed something here, because I'm mystified how you could
think that gcc development is conducted by an organisation with full-time
staff.
cheers,
DaveK
--
Can't think of a witty .sigline today....
