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Date:      Sun, 16 Sep 2012 14:16:16 -0700
From:      Doug Barton <dougb@FreeBSD.org>
To:        Warner Losh <imp@bsdimp.com>
Cc:        arch@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: Removing CVS from HEAD
Message-ID:  <505641A0.10606@FreeBSD.org>
In-Reply-To: <2C4DFA77-E2D8-4DA1-9512-5497ADAF740E@bsdimp.com>
References:  <201209141601.q8EG1lmf003367@fire.js.berklix.net> <2C4DFA77-E2D8-4DA1-9512-5497ADAF740E@bsdimp.com>

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On 09/14/2012 21:39, Warner Losh wrote:
> I think that we've reached the point in this thread that "no clear consensus exists for the change, therefore the status quo should remain the case."
> 
> All these points and counter points clearly show there's non consensus, so this should be tabled.

"I don't think that word means what you think it means."

Consensus does not mean "absence of opposing views." It means that the
weight of opinion is on one side, and the points raised by those opposed
have been carefully considered; and either accommodated or discarded as
less important than the benefits of the majority view. The mere fact
that someone disagrees with a proposed change should not be enough on
its own to scuttle that change.

In this case the weight is clearly in the "remove it" camp, and the
opposing opinions have been considered, and should be discarded.

Defining consensus the other way only gets you the least objectionable
changes, which are almost never the best by a purely technical measure.
Which is not to say that we should _never_ consider other factors,
merely that in a software project one would think that technical merit
really should be the deciding factor in the majority of cases.

Doug

-- 

    I am only one, but I am one.  I cannot do everything, but I can do
    something.  And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what
    I can do.
			-- Edward Everett Hale, (1822 - 1909)



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