Hi
I have just seen this item on Ars Technica UK about participation in open source projects;
Open source projects rely on donated time: But what motivates participants?
I have not read the full research report (subscription required), but key items from the news story;
“Results showed that developers who experienced both internal and external motivations contributed more to the project.”
“developers whose work had a social element were more likely to continue contributing to the project”
I hope people find this useful.