I have a hypothesis that people treat open source a little like the way that some managers and product managers treat software engineers — as dispensable, as pe

I have a hypothesis that people treat open source a little like the way that some managers and product managers treat software engineers — as dispensable, as people that shouldn't have authority or control, as people that don't know what the best is for the product. Unfortunately this isn't true. Empathetic makers — the ones that are most successful — are often deeply in touch with (a) needs of customers and (b) know what they are capable of offering. Unfortunately, what individuals offer is often not thought of as a gift (in both the open source world and in business), but rather as a given. This orientation is harmful to the human spirit, but unfortunately we have grown used to it in our world of seemingly endless commodities.