Why isn't more FOSS used for MODx addons?

I was just looking at some of the postings on VisionCart. I see people asking about rules, things like shipping costs, etc. I've seen the exact same discussions over at osCommerce and other forums where people specialize in this stuff. What a waste of duplicated effort.

One of the big draws of FOSS is that you are at liberty (free) to use the code anywhere. One of the problems of FOSS which is written for CMS packages is that most of it is hard-coded for the environment in which it's running. It's really a shame that with all of the fanfare about separation of tiers as good form and practice, and with the complex frameworks which people use to separate their rules from the UI, that people are still hard-coding UI/environment details into their rules.

MODx could get a huge influx of addons as well as Marketing benefits if people would look at porting existing code from other environments rather than writing everything from scratch. By abstracting platform-specific code to a higher level, complex plugins like e-commerce and galleries can be made platform-independent. If done properly, these better-implemented packages can be contributed back to the source, helping others who are working on it, and spreading the word about MODx. Rather than spending time on rules you can spend time on platform integration. If the code is maintained "in kind" over in some other CMS, you'll be able to get the package back some time later with improved rules and it "should" still work with MODx. If you do want to work on rules you can do so, contribute back to the source, and it's not just MODx people who benefit but anyone using that package. Everyone wins.

So does this theory fall apart anywhere?

Great thoughts.

This actually surfaced at the MODXpo as well; if you look back the video from the Innovation session you'll even hear the VisionCart devs weigh in on the subject

Great minds do indeed think alike.

OK, so if there is agreement that this would be a good idea, what can be done to make it happen?

I know ... resources.

(just yappin here...)
FOSS is great but part of the problem with the model is the free-as-in-beer thing. It's tough to get anyone to pay to keep someone else alive long enough to do things which benefit everyone - as you guys well know. I wouldn't mind helping with a lot of things, and I'm sure many other MODx users feel the same. But I'm trying to find time to develop my own businesses, and I've run out of time for more community efforts with no compensation model .. and I'm sure many other MODx users feel the same. C'est la vie.

The problem I see is that so many FOSS projects were not fully designed ahead of time. They started as something simple and then had further capabilities tacked on to them by people with widely varying skills at overall design (WordPress and MODX Evolution being prime examples). They get the job done, but there is no well-designed core to build on.

Many would be impossible to refactor in the way you're describing without rewriting them from the ground up (hence MODX Revolution), and few of us have time for that.

In fact, MODX Revolution is really the only project that I've seen that was properly designed to allow what you're suggesting without substantial rewriting. There may be other FOSS projects that would lend themselves to that, but I haven't seen any.