> Why would anyone dare to offer to talk about alternative software in
> person, when mere mention of it on the list causes irrational and hostile
> outbursts from proponents of the status quo?
Listen -- maybe you haven't been paying attention, but exactly what
you're purporting to argue *for* is actually what you're arguing
*against*. Few (any?) of the arguments re: Sendmail were actually
"pro" Sendmail; rather, they were against the "my MTA is cooler than your
MTA" atmosphere that some were condoning. If you haven't noticed this,
perhaps it's time you stopped trolling, and started adding some "signal"
to the signal:noise ratio.
> Based on posts by the various zealots on this list, I prefer to remian in
> the periphery, where I can only have epithets hurled at me, rather than
> beer mugs.
Ah -- never hurts to throw in a few personal insults...
> Last I heard, "Linux" was an OS kernel, which would support a broad
> variety of CPUs, C libraries, and god forbid, user applications like email
> and DNS servers.
>
> Yet some people stubbornly assert that the only god-sanctioned
> applications are sendmail, BIND, wu-ftp, inetd, etc.
No: again, you are *totally* missing the point. They are defending their
right to choose <MTA> *WITHOUT* getting abuse ("Oops,I guess Sendmail
wasn't secure after all..." -- tell me that this isn't a comment meant to
induce argument, instead of rational discussion. Go ahead.)
> My suspicion is that most of the loud mouths are middle-aged sysadmins,
> who have a substantial investment in sendmail, etc, after having spent
> years mastering the nuances of configuring the software, and are too
> scared of the notion that their labors may be obsoleted by new software to
> post objective remarks.
I'm guessing that you're a young sysadmin with almost no real-world
experience in larger companies, and actually getting things *done*, when
it's much more fun to argue pointlessly. One BBS I hang out on has a
forum called "Tiresome Debate": it's the place where things like MTA wars
go to die, since some folks refuse to even concede that there might *be* a
common ground, and the allowance to have differing opinions.
> In my mind the Linux movement is about migrating towards the Next Better
> Thing that is open source. Linux is the next best *nix kernel. As far
> as the next best software for particular services, I certainly hope that
> is open for honest debate. I have my opinions and am happy to discuss
> them with any interested persons. I just hope that such a meeting would
> be without the fascists that try to illegitemize my opinions and objective
> observations.
It's obvious you have opinions. If you care to share *CONSTRUCTIVE*
opinions, then please -- let's go! Maybe (as *SO* many people have
previously hinted) you could even give a demonstration of the software you
hold so near and dear. If it really is so good, dagnabbit, SHOW US. I
guess the bottom line here is, "Show me the money." Put up or shut up.
Sniping is all well and good... elsewhere. If you really wish to be a
proponent of <SOFTWARE PACKAGE>, then *be* a proponent -- someone who is
willing to discuss, and, preferably, exhibit, the things they like about
their chosen package. You'll note, however, that, akin to "negative
campaigning," being a proponent of a given package doesn't mean dissing
other packages out-of-hand.
> If you wanna have a flame war, at least allow yourself the dignity of
> researching your statments first. Like "when was the most recent
> root-granting bug" in sendmail or qmail.....
NOBODY on here (except you and Kurth, perhaps) want a flame war. NOBODY
has trolled here except you two. Flame wars bring signal:noise close to
0, and certainly don't accomplish anything except getting good folks like
Paul to leave the list. If that's your intention, if all you care about
is your own opinion, and to hell with everyone else, please use the
unsubscribe feature, and save everyone a lot of grief. If you wish to
have a rational, constructive discussion (and/or LUG meeting) about your
software, then, please, do so. But leave the trolling, insults, and line
noise out of it.
-Ken
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