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No they can "get away with it" due to:

- Having a regular and well tested release model.

- Having a clear policy of supporting only the current and previous release.

- Being a BSD style OS where the kernel, libc, and base programs are developed and released as a whole.

- Not making promises about binary compatibility across releases.

..which insures a miniscule install base. Zero compatibility guarantees and constant depreciation is anathema to enterprise at least.

Not really, because as mentioned the entire system is the release. They don't release kernels on their own and the userland is upgraded in lockstep with the kernel with each release.

That said, they'd be the first to tell you that if their model doesn't suit your needs, you're free to use another OS. They build and support what they want. If you want something else, they'll ask you to get involved and do the work.

I took issue with the previous comment as the wording "get away with" implies the user base has the release and deprecation cycles forced upon them. Whereas it is quite welcomed by the user community. OpenBSD has never targeted those wanting long term support style releases.

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