@cbed @bdon @openstreetmap I'll answer to each tweet :) So, this is indeed unlike Linux, but a bit like Wikipedia. They have got millions of editors, but very few developers — some volunteer, some they had to hire, because people rarely align to tasks.
Another example is HOT. They are primarily mappers and community builders, but they have to hire developers to make their operations effective.
An opposite example is the TomTom OSM team. They struggle with what tools other people made.