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Newsgroups: comp.os.386bsd.misc Path: sserve!newshost.anu.edu.au!munnari.oz.au!constellation!osuunx.ucc.okstate.edu!moe.ksu.ksu.edu!crcnis1.unl.edu!wupost!howland.reston.ans.net!darwin.sura.net!newsserver.jvnc.net!news.edu.tw!news!nchud5.nchu.edu.tw!vax9k.nchu.edu.tw!Anonymous From: Anonymous@vax9k.nchu.edu.tw (Public Account) Subject: Re: 386BSD Participation Message-ID: <Anonymous.1.742287290@vax9k.nchu.edu.tw> Lines: 81 Sender: usenet@nchud5.nchu.edu.tw (USENET account) Organization: National Chung Hsing University Computer Center References: <1993Jun25.140526.1385@jpl-devvax.jpl.nasa.gov> <1993Jun25.145818.13457@bert.eecs.uic.edu> Date: Sat, 10 Jul 1993 06:54:50 GMT In article <1993Jun25.145818.13457@bert.eecs.uic.edu> zmola@bert.eecs.uic.edu (Carl Zmola) writes: >From: zmola@bert.eecs.uic.edu (Carl Zmola) >Subject: Re: 386BSD Participation >Date: Fri, 25 Jun 1993 14:58:18 GMT >kaleb@octopus (Kaleb Keithley) writes: > >>Press 'n' now to avoid more mindless drivel :-) > > > Good advice, I wish I had taken it. > > > > > >>conklin@kaleida.com (J.T. Conklin) writes: >>>bj> The "greed" battle for control, or "cold" war begins. 386bsd >>>bj> florishes, as real people finally get a chance to participate with >>>bj> BSD, something they have waited for ten years for. >>> >>>I don't see that anyone has had a chance to participate. I am sure >>>that lots of people have contributed their work to you, but that is >>>not the same as _participation_. >>> > >>I agree with J.T. It seems like the vast majority of "us" weren't "real" >>enough to participate. My fledgling attempts to participate were met with >>official silence, and unofficial flames from self-important nobodies and >>thinly veiled threats. Life's too short to put up with that, and I've got >>other things to do too, so if it seems like I didn't try very hard, you're >>absolutely right. > > Managing a software project is difficult, especially if you don't >know the capabilities of your contributers before hand. 386BSD has always >been a closed door product. "you contribute your code, and if we can use >it, we will". I like this approach. For me it gives me some stability >(even if there are some bugs), as opposed to Linux or other systems where >there is a patch a week. > >>If 386BSD is a truly public effort, the coordinators need to make the time >>in their busy schedules to do some coordinating. A simple 'yes we need that, >>and no one is currently working on it' or 'no, someone else is already on >>it, contact them' would suffice. If it's a club, and only members are >>allowed to participate, then at least you could have made that clear at >>the outset. > > I really hope that Bill Jolitz was more polite then you make him out >to be, and I also hope you didn't nag him to death. I've known friendly >systems people (enter your favorite campus support person here) >who would chew your head off if you ask for something to be done in less >then two days. No one is perfect, but there is no reason to flame on the net. >If you don't like it, use a different system. > >>It's certainly admirable to release software like 386BSD into the domain >>of freely redistributable software. But let's cut through the altruistic >>bullshit -- you're being handsomely rewarded for your efforts, both tangibly >>and intangibly. DDJ pays for the articles they print. I'd wager the publisher >>of "the book" ponied up a healthy advance. Are you counting your royalties >>yet -- I doubt you'll be selling as many copies as Jurassic Park? And to >>top it all off, you have your place in the sun along with Stallman and >>Torvalds. > > Everyone has to make a living, and Giving away your programming >time usually doesn't cut it. > >>If you want to cry in your beer in the corner of a bar somewhere, that's >>your priviledge and your business. If you want to whine in public about >>some wrong that someone has done to you, real or imagined, then take your >>snivel rag and go home, because we don't want to hear it. > > > On the same note, don't expect red carpet treatment, or to even >be acknowledged. People are busy, and some people are especially busy. >It would be nice if they could be courteous, but they have no obligation to. > > > > > Carl > Zmola@cicero.spc.uchicago.edu >