digg the dhivehi way?

I came across this web site (http://www.dhivehin.net/), I'd have to say this is something I really like. Maybe there is not much as of now, but might turn out good (I hope). What I would really like to see is a platform for IT guys to discuss and share stuff. Where people can openly ask questions, share the experiences, etc.

We have been very closed in terms of sharing the knowledge and knowhow. When IT started off in Maldives (back in late 80's and early 90's) not many were willing to share. It was very much a closed platform. Even people did not want to share the softwares they had or even explain how things work or are done ("complicated stuff, they told you"). This I guess really staled a lot during those days, and I guess we never developed enough as we should have. Even now simple things are made to look as big deals. Those days we use to have a gang of "foxpro" lovers; who competed among themselves for projects. Most of these people never evolved (most). I guess mostly the reason was there was not much knowledge sharing and R&D works. No one was really interested all, what mattered was making money out of what you just learned. Maybe this was good for the individuals. As a community I guess we did not benefit much from the pioneers of IT in Maldives. Maybe I might be wrong. I am sorry if I am being too general.

The closed source model as I would put it, is really bad for a community like us. We don't have good universities or even companies who do R&D work or even invest in technology. This I feel results in us being left behind compared to the rest of the world. Example; even if we look at Sir Lanka , they have got institutions, individuals and even communities who are doing so much contribution to technology. Sri Lanka have been contributing to projects like apache(which is the most famous web server) and other projects. Recently Google has given the Lanka Software Foundation USD 25,000 to drive open source software projects locally. So what can we do to improve? Well; I guess it all depends on individuals. Rather then us always telling "what are they doing about that". We hardly say "what can I do about this". Simple if you don't wanna be part of such contribution, just ignore such things (stop even commenting). One good starting point can be the schools. I guess the education system now "sucks"; even if you agree with me or not. Something that can be changed is to try and educate our kids more, lead them in the right directions. Now some kids finish school after doing Computing, without even writing a single line of a program. Its a problem with the system; they don't encourage such things at all. Even the teachers we bring in to teach these kids are not really good enough or have the knowledge. Anyway I don't think these things will change in a near future.

Even though this is the case, I am happy to say there is real talent in Maldives. Hardly people notice these kids and individuals. If anyone would identify these individuals and help them to improve and give them more opportunities, it would really make a difference. If people and companies would set aside the immediate commercial factors and invest on them, it sure would be a good contribution. Simple things like even a word of encouragement is a lot. Anyway I always hope to see a change. I am seeing things change and people developing. The best part of such developments is you get to share what you have learned and also learn from them.