Once again, now with clearer starting conditions (not intended to
match TiVo in any way, BTW; don't get into that distraction)
Vendor doesn't care about tivoizing, their business works the same
either way.
Vendor's employees will contribute the same, one way or another, so
their contributions are out of the equation.
Users get source code in either case, and they can modify it and share
it. They're in no way stopped from becoming part of the community.
Given these conditions:
In a tivoized device, users will be unable to scratch their itches.
This doesn't stop them from contributing to the project, but they may
lack self-interest motivation to contribute, because they won't be
able to use their modifications in the device they own.
In a non-tivoized device, users can scratch their itches. They can
contribute just as much as they would in a tivoized device, but since
they can use the changes they make to make their own devices work
better for them, this works as a motivator for them to make changes,
and perhaps to contribute them. Therefore, they will tend to
contribute more.
Can you point out any flaw in this reasoning, or can we admit it as
true?