Expanding on that - Independent FOSS developers are also doing it for fun. I don't think that detail gets enough credit. It means that by default most FOSS d

Expanding on that - Independent FOSS developers are also doing it for fun. I don't think that detail gets enough credit. It means that by default most FOSS developers aren't going to be nearly as interested in making significant contributions to an existing project as they are in starting their own project. For most of us maintaining existing code, fixing other people's bugs, and dealing with project politics are sure-fire fun killers. So getting involved in an existing project would defeat the purpose. On the other hand, the fact that my from-scratch project may not ever be useful to anyone else is at best a remote concern.