Professional Support

Professional support can range from a quick answer to a problem posted on a mailing list or Open Source business model consultation for proprietary GIS vendors. In short: It is highly divers.

People

Most support is given by people. These can be highly, qualified and seasoned individuals who have worked on one software package for years and know it inside out. They can also be newbies who have stumbled accross exactly the same problem a few days back, got help from the list or found out themselves and are thrilled to be able to give back some help. Either way - if it helps to solve your problem it was good.

Whether people are employed by a large corporation that is involved in multi million dollar projects or whether they sit in a park with their notebook on the knees does not necessarily mean that one id more "professional" (better) than the other. Surprisingly the continuity of involvement in FOSS Projects is higher with individuals than with corporations (they sell, buy, get sold, lose interest, etc.).

Agile students and small companies use FOSS mailing lists as a market place to advertize their proficiency and are a good place to look for competence.