Date: Mon, 03 May 1999 20:06:30 -0600 From: Wes Peters <wes@softweyr.com> To: Rahul Siddharthan <rsidd@physics.iisc.ernet.in> Cc: advocacy@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Some thoughts on advocacy (was: Slashdot ftp.cdrom.com upgra Message-ID: <372E5626.FB7F027@softweyr.com> References: <Pine.LNX.4.05.9905031122490.3792-100000@sys3.physics.iisc.ernet.in>
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Since you insist on trying to get in the parting shot, I'll include
the advocacy list on this right along with you.
Rahul Siddharthan wrote:
>
> Let me make a couple of things clear:
> (a) I'm guilty of going on too long about the GPL, sorry about
> that.
> (b) My intention was not to discuss the merits of the GPL,
> and certainly not to suggest that BSD switch to GPL.
> Please re-read my first post if you don't believe this.
I didn't respond to your first post, because I found nothing of
note in it. I responded to your accusation that the members of
the freebsd-advocacy mailing list hate the GPL because we don't
understand it, a group attack that was both unwarranted and untrue.
> I can't believe the sort of "advocacy" that goes on sometimes. I
You seem to misunderstand the purpose of the advocacy list. This is
not a place for "outsiders" to come get some advocacy, it is a place
for those who advocate FreeBSD to discuss what is going on in the
world, and to formulate replies. The replies that are generated are
then posted in other forums, such as Daemon News, FreeBSD 'zine, the
FreeBSD web pages, etc.
> fully appreciate someone's comment that you'll find extreme
> opinions expressed on the list. The things is, you find the same
> opinions expressed outside. At the same time you find extremely
> reasonable and balanced articles like Jordan Hubbard's in
> Freshmeat some time back. I originally started reading the
> archives to find out what you chaps "really" think...
If you think Jordan is the voice of reason here, you really need
to go back and read the archives. ;^) The discussions you see
here are the back-and-forth of a working group trying to reach
a consensus. Without input from all sides of an argument, no
reasonable consensus can be reached. There are several here,
myself included, who often choose a side that has not been argued
for and argue that point just to be sure the topic gets completely
covered. I've seen Terry Lambert and Sue Blake do this as well.
Again, I'd like to impress upon you that from your limited reading
of this list, YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND the dynamics of it.
And if you think this little discussion about the GPL was heated,
you certainly aren't tough enough to play in this ballpark. This
was MILD compared to some of the flame-a-thons kicked off in the
past. Those who hold their convictions so lightly...
> As I said, I do my bit to encourage use of FreeBSD, but I can't
> go on an anti-GPL binge while doing so. That's why I raised the
I agree with you on every point above. I dislike the GPL quite a
bit more than you do, but it is a fact of life, and railing against
it does nothing to promote FreeBSD as a system or as a community.
> issue. I realize now that logic is not what is involved here.
Now you have to go and ruin a nice little message with yet another
ad-hominem attack like that. If you're going to be able to effectively
advocate anything, you've just got to get over that habit.
When asked to compare the GPL and Berkeley-style licenses, I (and
most FreeBSD users) will fall squarely on the side of the Berkeley
license. That is tangential to FreeBSD the system, but very near
and dear to "FreeBSD the Community." The choices made are perfectly
logical; logic is exactly what is involved. Your snotty little
remarks certainly don't help your argument, even when you're not
trying to make one!
> Issue closed, from my side at least.
Agreed, I'll stop railing at you if you'll stop calling me names.
--
"Where am I, and what am I doing in this handbasket?"
Wes Peters Softweyr LLC
http://www.softweyr.com/~softweyr wes@softweyr.com
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