Hello.I am a Japanese university student.
I study Open source software in my class. So, I have some questions for the person who participated in this open source project.

<question>
*What you do.
*Why you do it.
*How long you do it.
*How you collaborate with others.

I would like to answer this questions and I'm glad to prompt reply.

Well... The kind of questions you ask are really very common, it happens several times a year that we get approached on our mailing lists with this kind of questions regularly. And the best way to figure out what makes open source tick is to participate, not to interview. So please forgive me that I'm not very elaborate in my answers.

What: I am the maintainer of Krita, and that means that I am not just writing code, but also helping people get started, coordinate efforts and work on publicity.

Why: because it's fun, because there's a lot to learn, because I meet and work together with people from all over the world and because an application like Krita embodies a wealth of knowledge that is now open to every9one

How long: more than ten years

How the collaboration works: irc, mailing lists, forums, developer sprints.

ようこそ Mii!

What: I run the website for Krita.org and just try to help out where I can (I'm not a programmer). Sometimes that means filing or testing bugs. Occasionally creating artwork, or doing publicity for the Krita project (like writing about Krita on Identi.ca, or answering posts on forums like this). I look for 4 things when deciding what to do: 1. What do I have time to do 2. What would I enjoy doing 3. What do I have the skills to do and 4. What needs to be done. Some things have more of one than another (for example I don't love testing bugs, but I can do it and it needs to be done), but I look to help where I can.

Why: Because I believe that software that is only created to help people makes the world a better place for me, my family and the people who will come after me. Because I believe everyone should have good access to opportunities. Because I enjoy creating (artwork, businesses, relationships, software) and I enjoy working with people who have different skills to me when creating things. Because I enjoy meeting people from all over the world and getting to know them (like The Netherlands, France, Germany, Chile, The US and now Japan ). Because by creating freely available alternatives to popular software run by businesses, I believe we help a truly free market that helps keep those businesses more honest in serving their customers rather than trying to control them. Without readily available options, "free" markets tend to turn into monopolies more interested in control than service. Even when we don't become "the" most popular choice, just by existing we force the popular commercial software to treat people better. Just look at Internet Explorer before and after FireFox became well known. I also like that open source is created by *communities* who's main interest is to help the community. I enjoy business, too, however I am very aware that public companies (the ones that normal people can buy shares in) *legally must* do everything they can (as long as the law allows it) to increase profit for their shareholders. It is breaking the law to do something that lowers profit just a little to do what is ethical. I all things should be used to create more happiness for all living things in this world and that this part of business (but not all business) is wrong. I believe community created software helps people create a future based on relationships and happiness rather than just on control and profit (although I think that money, used in *service* to people can help).

How Long: I have been contributing for 5 Years, although my businesses used FOSS for a few years more.

How I collaborate with others: I stay informed about the project by talking to people on irc (#krita), these forums, krita.org, identi.ca, Deviantart.com, bugs.kde.org and Ubuntuforums.org. I share ideas. I compile Krita from the source code, use it and then share what worked and what didn't. Occasionally I create and share some kind of art like a test of a new logo or something like that. I try and make new visitors (like you!) welcome. After all, free software is about relationships. Software is made by people

ご幸運を祈ります

Note: Now I have an answer I can link to for the next time someone asks this. Yay, systems