A Fork in the Code

I am waiting and seeing how this new MySQL Enterprise Edition shapes up and how it affects the Community Edition, the Community, and MySQL users as a whole, but everything I have heard about it so far, from official press releases, initial public feedback, and information given to me, I am very impressed with it. This move shows every sign of being well-planned, designed to work positively for all parties concerned, from MySQL staff to paying customers to community members. What I see is added value for paying customers, better reasons for purchasing the paid edition, a focusing of MySQL's resources to better develop the product as well as to devote support to their customers, and importantly, an enabling of the community to be even greater participants than before. Some things taken for granted by some community members such as frequent binary updates may cause some disappointment, but I view this as a small price to pay, and an encouragement to become more literate with the source code, more involved in the process. Something for nothing is an illusion, it is so important in the long run that the community puts back in as much or more as it gets out.

To echo the sentiments of others, it is an honor to be part of this community, to help it along as we are able. MySQL shows no signs of fading away despite naysayers along the way, and its continued existence and popularity attest to its success.