What the non-GNU/Linux community needs to grok

15-feb-2000 21:07

Charles H. Connell Jr.'s mailbox has been flooded by the Linux advocates. That's bad. Advocates often do more harm than good. Especially the zealot part of them. They just don't get it. Mr. Connell then wrote: "What The Linux Community Needs To Grok", where he shows that he hasn't understood the concept of Free Software in general and GNU/Linux in particular either. Here's the most prominent misunderstandings: "You [The GNU/Linux community] will face pressure to add 50 new items to the next release, when it really ought to have 10. Wealthy organizations, accustomed to getting their way, will demand impossible schedules from you, and then complain if the quality is not perfect.". The "wealthy organizations" will have to either 1) Develop on their own, 2) Hire someone to develop for them or 3) Wait until someone wants to do it and gets it done. "Wealthy organizations" can whine all they want, what do we care? "Stay humble and keep listening to your customers. If you do, you can extend your time on top for a while.". There are no customers! GNU/Linux is free, it is not a product and it is not forced upon anyone!