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On Fri, 22 Sep 2006 08:55:14 -0400, Seemant Kulleen wrote: |
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|
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> On Fri, 2006-09-22 at 12:29 +0000, Peter wrote: |
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> |
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> |
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>> We can disagree on that point. All distros are businesses. Users are |
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>> customers. No users, no distro. |
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> |
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> That is not strictly true. You can have a distro without users -- |
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> nobody but you would be using it -- it's still a distro. It all depends |
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> on what you expect out of the project. I think Sejo's got the right |
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> idea this time -- this distro is just a community, and that's how it's |
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> run (well, it's run more like a commune, but anyway). If it were run |
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> like a business, the behaviour would be a lot different (and a lot more |
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> closed). For starters, there would actually be a leadership situation |
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> in place. You can argue that Gentoo *began* its life as a business, but |
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> the past three years have been far removed from that paradigm. |
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> |
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> |
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And, IMHO, that's a problem. A business, per se, does not necessarily mean |
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for profit or even to generate revenues. However, one may argue that a |
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business should provide a service or manufacture something -- even if for |
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free. |
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|
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That said, the community aspect of gentoo, while altruistic, has its |
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problems when it comes to adjudicating disputes or greenlighting projects. |
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Look at the chaos with Seeds! Some very vocal opponents, vocal supporters. |
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People advocating a Glep, others against it. Problem is, no leader can |
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or does say anything to squelch the dispute and allow the issue to either |
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move on or go completely unofficial. |
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|
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That the dispute remains unresolved causes ill feelings to linger, allows |
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the people on either side to dig in to their respective positions harder |
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and looks plain dumb. Good points have been raised on either side, |
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although there are some very strong voices that seem to dominate the |
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discussion. However, those voices are NOT from the council. Do those |
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voices have the authority to change policy? Make policy? No. |
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|
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Having a democratic organization is great. Having a community-run distro |
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is great. However, it's a little utopian and unrealistic when situations |
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like this arise. You need a group to lay down the law and establish |
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control. Otherwise, you may find yourself in a situation where good people |
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with differing points of view just get fed up and leave the fold. That |
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would be a loss for everyone. |
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|
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Similarly, you cannot allow certain individuals with little or no standing |
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to try and dictate what policy vis a vis a proposed project should be. |
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Otherwise, you end up in a real mess. |
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|
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I once served on a board with 39 members. It was a national association |
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charged with pr and marketing of it's core service. The 39 members came |
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from important companies from around the nation each in this business. |
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|
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Despite the wonderful intentions of the board -- to promote our industry, |
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lobby the government (state, local, and federal), assist smaller players |
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-- agreement on even the most minor items took forever. Ultimately, after |
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a few years, the board was reduced to 13 and became more productive. |
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|
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When new ideas are proposed and developed, gentoo's leadership must be |
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involved from the beginning. This will head off these 100 thread |
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flamefests, allow project originators to know where they stand, and allow |
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those who disagree to know that there is authority. |
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|
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You cannot allow things to get out of hand like they do. Everyone here |
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obviously wants to make gentoo better. However, NOT everyone has the right |
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to do so. NOT everyone has veto power or authority to approve. |
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|
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That's what's missing from this process. I think the council has been far |
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too quiet and policy far too vague which makes new ideas so difficult and |
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controversial. |
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|
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You can't have a socialist model for a business. It simply does not work. |
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A union cannot run an auto company. You need leadership. Gentoo cannot be |
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run by 100 developers concurrently (yes, I know there are 300, but how |
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many of those are actually contributing?). There has to be a chain of |
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command. Otherwise, you are rudderless. |
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|
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JM$0.02 |
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-- |
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Peter |
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|
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-- |
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