[Reeve of shinra]

Originally Posted by AN-net

isn't the core business of a community the message boards? so buying the maker can only bring enhancements to a core function of their businesses.

In some cases yes... for example Google's hiring of Vint Cerf, purchasing Dark Fiber, and building out a data center were directly related to reducing the cost of their operations.

In other cases no.... for example lets use animationtalk.com - the core of your business are the users NOT the software running the site behind the scenes. Expenses aside, it wouldn't make any sense for you to buy Jelsoft. If you did, you would be forced to focus on the development of the software package as a whole when it would be easier to develop the aspects your site may specifically need. You have the extra burden of supporting the software when you really want to be talking about animation because thats what your users are interested in and its whats driving your revenue stream.