Author here: In our case the vendor was very proven, but the tech and their approach to it was not. What actually happened is a bit more complicated than _abandoned_, but those words got the point across without delving into the irrelevant.
Needless to say, I am _very_ leery now of the motives of open-source products that aren't run like open-source projects.
This is a point I was starting to make at the last segment of the piece, but my editor (also my wife) encouraged me to edit that down from 1500 words to what's there and break off the piece about the passionate versus the professional into a follow-up. From the feedback I've been getting, it seems to be something worth exploring.
Needless to say, I am _very_ leery now of the motives of open-source products that aren't run like open-source projects.