Date: Mon, 21 May 2001 08:37:14 -0500 From: markemmanuel <lists@markemmanuel.org> To: FreeBSD advocacy <freebsd-advocacy@freebsd.org> Subject: Re: [dn-core] Re: Perens' "Free Software Leaders Stand Together" Message-ID: <B72E8439.2E83%lists@markemmanuel.org> In-Reply-To: <20010521114737.C96248@lpt.ens.fr>
next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
Quoted from the Book of Rahul Siddharthan Ch 6:7-13 on 5/21/01 4:47 AM: > My take on this is: the "free software community" (aka open source > community, aka linux community because most linux developers do have > that mindset) wants to change the world. The BSD community wants to > write good software but is not interested in changing the world. So > there's a fundamental difference. Here's how I see the Linux community for the most part... "Talk much, do little." Here's how I see the BSD community... "Talk little, do much." I think we all want to change the world in some form but each community has different priorities. It feels like the Linux community, especially since it has inflated, tries to shove Linux down anyone and everyone's throat even though their product isn't polished. Mandrake released 8.0 a few weeks ago with a broken compiler they called a beta in a final release. The BSD community does their own thing and spreads their software through their circle of influence. > This is the context of my earlier remarks on "activism" on issues like > DeCSS -- such activism simply does not exist in the BSD world. Ted's > entire response to my mail was to justify in detail why there's no > point in doing anything. The only worry BSD people ever have is, why > aren't people using their system when it's better than linux? Well, > it's better, but linux has a different worldview and many people are > attracted by that. Yep. People like loud and annoying people in our society. Also, there aren't many things to be an activist with without gettting in trouble and people do their activism anonymously on the internet. (We are a society of weaklings). Many saw that activism in Linux. Is there a website that definitively says, "yes, FreeBSD is better than Debian Linux." I've seen so many sites telling me how Linux has superior SMP, superior networking, yadda yadda to FreeBSD and MS Windows. > Another example: Dan Bernstein, the man who (apart from writing qmail, > djbdns, etc) sued the US government for the right to post crypto code > on the net for educational purposes. His favourite operating system > is OpenBSD; he's not known to be a big linux fan. But many in the > linux world would consider him part of the "linux community" (which is > generally a misnomer for the free software community), because of the > things he's done and the software he's written. I don' t think anyone > considers him part of the BSD community, least of all the BSD > community itself. We're not keeping score are we? ;) Again, I believe it's because the BSD community seems to be focused on other things other than advocacy. Linux community loves to talk and brag about 'their people'. The BSD community has other priorities or perhaps lives outside of their favorite operating system, ;) > I don't have a problem with any of this. If the BSD people > want to focus on improving their code, well, that indicates focus and > commitment, and those are good things. I think Linus is very much like that with his Kernel code. From what I heard is Linus hates doing media spots but everyone continues to egg him on to do it. Most of the people that talk too much rarely work with the code. The people doing the advocacy are usually newbies like me that don't know much, people with no lives, or those with huge egos. I honestly want to focus on the code when my skills develop and less on advocacy. If the BSDs really want to media coverage, perhaps there can be a community effort to get media attention for BSD. I personally think it's important to form alliances like IBM to contribute and take code in order to grow FreeBSD, OpenBSD, and NetBSD. > > BUT -- if the same BSD people then turn around and complain that Bruce > Perens isn't asking them to sign his petition -- *that* I have a > problem with. That's hypocrisy. That's wanting things both ways. Yep, why complain when you can just write your own paper and invite everyone to join. > I'm thinking of expanding these views into a longer article, but > thought I'd see how people react... I would love to read an article expanding these views. :) markemmanuel To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-advocacy" in the body of the message
Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?B72E8439.2E83%lists>