Open Source does not mean easily re-compile-able (Was: Command Languages Versus Programming Languages)

In article <vkmbsj$3kvjq$1@dont-email.me>,
Kalevi Kolttonen <kalevi@kolttonen.fi> wrote:
...

Thunderbird is open source, maybe even free software.
>
I am sure it is extremely easy to either remove the
"reply" button or to bind it to the "followup" function.

I doubt it is any simple matter to find it in the massive source code, much
less to figure out how to fix it, much less figure out how to successfully
re-build (and test!) it after making your changes.

Generally, most complicated GUI software, even if technically Open Source,
is difficult, if not impossible, for ordinary people using ordinary
machines, to re-build from source.  Among other things, you will generally
end up spending many hours, if not days, getting all the dependencies installed.

--
That's the Trump playbook. Every action by Trump or his supporters can
be categorized as one (or more) of:

    outrageous, incompetent, or mentally ill.