Some interesting comments, thank you
Shareaza isn't currently open source for three simple reasons:
a - Because its closed source, I can control it. If I want to add something I dont have to get approval or code within certain guidelines, etc. Granted I could just "publish" the code for interested parties to read, but then:
b - People could clone it, which doesn't really help anyone except the person(s) doing the cloning. Usually the motivation to clone IS commercial, and while there could be stipulations preventing this kind of use, who is going to enforce them?
c - There is no real need for another reference implementation. I believe Gnucelus provides an implementation in C++ (which is what Shareaza would be), LimeWire provides a Java implementation, and gtk-gnutella for Linux in C (?). If someone genuinely needs to know how something is done, they can use these resources (or ask).
As for the other items, the lack of Shareaza ultrapeers is probably most easily explained by the general lack of Shareaza users. Its terrific that Shareaza has such a dedicated, enthusiastic and supportive user base, but in terms of numbers it cant compete with the big three (or four counting Morpheus separately).
And LimeWire chat/browsing compatibility -- that should all work fine. I say should because anything is possible in practice, but if you have found a problem I would encourage you to post it with a description in an appropriate venue such as the Shareaza forum here or at shareaza.com, where in either case it will receive full attention. Likewise with any stability problem you may have encountered -- if you see a problem, post the error report and it can (and will) be fixed. Modern debugging is very, very accurate.
