I can think of two reasons.
The Noble Reason:
Through the years, I have written lots of code to solve many different business challenges. On more than one occasion, I have turned to the Internet and Google for answers. Thousands of people ask questions and some very bright people take the time to answer. Many sharp people share lots of code with easy to follow examples.
I have used many peoples’ ideas as a genesis for the code I have written. Some of these ideas can be useful to other people. After all these years of being a consumer of shared ideas, it is time for me to share.
The Real Reason:
For many years I developed windows applications in Delphi, version 1-7. Currently my windows applications are developed in C# with Visual Studio 2005. Occasionally, I develop class libraries, web services and console applications.
I endeavor to do high quality, reliable work. To maintain high quality work requires ongoing training and education. I need to increase my .NET development skills by developing for the Internet.
I must admit, this experience has NOT been the most rewarding. I enjoy creating rich user experiences with snappy interfaces. I like to have a high degree of control over the user experience. I create thorough, reliable and user pleasing applications that communicate quickly with a database like Oracle or MySQL.
ASP.NET has been challenging and the development time is much slower. My web sites have a lot less functionality than I desire. I am NOT happy that I take more time to deliver less quality product on the web. Perhaps SilverLight will allow me to deliver rich web experiences in a timely manner.
Over time, I realized that an Open Source, Content Management System (CMS) will solve most of my web site navigation and display concerns. I settled on MojoPortal because it is written in .NET and it is flexible and mature.
As I have created articles and demos for my web site, my knowledge has greatly increased. My programming ability is much better.
Some of the benefits include: