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On 06/03/2014 10:05 PM, Canek Peláez Valdés wrote: |
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> On Tue, Jun 3, 2014 at 8:37 PM, Greg Woodbury <redwolfe@×××××.com> wrote: |
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> |
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>> Sure, systemd is a more elegant solution than the patchworks that have |
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>> been applied several times to the original SysV concept. |
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> |
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> Glad to see you recognize that. |
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> |
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>> However, the implementors and advocates of systemd have stepped on the |
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>> concerns and violated certain basic freedoms of many folks in their zeal |
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>> to see their vision become predominate. |
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> |
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> Oh FFS. What "freedoms" have you had "violated"? The "freedom" to |
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> mandate what other developers should write, or what packages they can |
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> use as hard dependencies? |
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> |
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> You never had that "freedom". That's the developer freedom; if you |
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> want some of that, become a developer. |
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|
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I was a developer for more years than I really care to remember. I |
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still try to contribute in ways and areas that I'm not so out-of-date with. |
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Furthermore, it is a two-way street (as I see it.) The developers write |
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things they find interesting and enjoyable to work on, and users use |
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things that are interesting and work well. For many, seeing other folks |
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use what they have written provides a significant measure of the |
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enjoyment derived from the exercise. |
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|
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To see this as only freedom for the developer is part of an attitude |
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shift over the years that only lessens the overall usefulness of Linux |
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and FOSS. It does, in fact, push quite a few folk I know away from the |
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Linux arena. It is, to use a political analogy, like the people who |
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claim there "is not any real difference" between *any* opposing |
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political movements -- that neglects taking into account a great deal of |
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technical and historical details. |
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|
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I occasionally think about forking projects and fixing some of the |
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things I think are the most egregious fsck-ups in some of them, but then |
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I really look at what I'm doing and what I enjoy doing, and realize that |
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I won't get enough (emotional?) reward for giving up time in other |
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significant parts of my life. |
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|
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> Or help Samuli to maintain upower-pm-utils; that would be *much* more |
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> helpful than spreding FUD about cabals and conspiracies. |
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|
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There is no need for me to invent Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt -- the |
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folks involved are doing quite well on their own. Also, history (for |
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those not doomed to repeat it [1]) provides all that is required to make |
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calling it a "cabal" [TINC - there is no cabal![2]] There never was a |
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Usenet Backbone Cabal in any formal sense, but there was plenty of |
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semi-(un)coordinated activity -- based largely on shared ideals -- that |
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gave that appearance. {I was there when Usenet/Netnews was invented, |
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closely observing, making minor and not-so-minor contributions, and was |
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responsible for some of the "cabal-like" activities.} |
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|
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The mere coinage of terms like "Lennertware," whether or not deserved, |
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show that there is a widespread awareness that some developers, in my |
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opinion, have over developed egos. [3] |
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|
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It is all so trite to say "become a developer and DO something instead |
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of complaining" but it is not a realistic thing to say when the |
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problems are getting so large and interconnected. Furthermore, it |
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denigrates and devalues the "pseudo-democratic" processes that FOSS and |
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Linux have worked for years to nurture. |
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|
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[1] Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. |
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(paraphrase of George Santayana) |
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|
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[2] See, for starters: |
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http://http://en.wikipedia.or/wiki/Backbone_cabal |
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|
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[3] All Gods have feet of clay. |
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source uncertain. |
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(perhaps a reference to "Ozymandias"? |
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|
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-- |
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G.Wolfe Woodbury |
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{once upon a time AKA ...!duke!ggw} |