I think this is the nicest (as in, most polite/caring and least inflammatory) essay I seen from Dave Winer (on the topic of software) since probably '97. I wouldn't have expected this a year ago. Go Dave!

Dave Winer: The baby squirrels grow up

That ought to be on DaveNet.

When he talks about the people who reported bugs and cheered the new features, who loved too much, who were angry about the changes at UserLand in 1998, I was one of those people. I was very angry at the time, because I loved Frontier, more than was healthy.

I nearly fell into that trap again with WebObjects, but after my experience with Frontier I was better prepared, not as easily fooled into loving software and becoming emotionally attached to its journey.

It's comfortable participating in an open source platform and community. If something doesn't happen, or something doesn't get done as well as I think it should have, I have only one person to blame. Me. And I have so many other responsibilities that take priority over a software platform that my expectations are far more realistic than they would have been a few years ago.

Lately I've taken further steps towards growing up, and ironically it means being a kid again for a while. I'd love to say more about it, but the time isn't right yet. Soon though.