On 3/25/06, Jim Snyder <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Hello All, > > I've been passively following the "money threads" from the very first > post. Considering that this topic has generated over 100 replies, > perhaps this should serve as a clue to its importance. > > Background: I'm a second-generation airline pilot, therefor I've been > many places and worked with many people in a team environment. This > is not to brag. This is to explain my perspective. I love > technology. I love OpenBSD. And I want OpenBSD to thrive. > > The money, or lack of, is not the problem. It is the symptom. The > problem is the culture of condescension. It's very simple. Treat > people like second-class citizens and they will respond accordingly. > This is not quantum physics, folks. This is about people. The code > is beautiful. OpenBSD has no equal. And yet people are abandoning > the community in droves.
By what measure? CD sales have dropped while a corresponding increase in FTP downloads occurs. No one is leaving, they're just not supporting the project monetarily; they're still using the code. > I un-subscribed from OpenBSD-misc a long time ago because I realized > quickly that I would not be posting any questions. Why slam my inbox > and be insulted when I can just as easily read the archives. Have you ever read [EMAIL PROTECTED] I mean actually read it? The only people that get slammed are those that deserve it. You're supposed to do your own homework - there is no hand holding because hand holding takes away time from more productive things, like code. The community as a whole spends a great deal of effort clearly documenting everything and those that choose to ignore that effort get the brunt of the flames. I have never seen, in my four years on this list, anyone getting flamed by a developer or well-known community member that didn't absolutely deserve it. > A message to Mr. de Raadt and the OpenBSD team: You are exceptionally > gifted hackers. OpenBSD is in a class of its own. You have given the > world a wonderful gift. (several gifts actually) And the project is > now at a critical turning point. Wake up. You can go on pretending > that the problem is too many selfish whiners and too many selfish > vendors. Or you can take a good hard look in the mirror. Your > foundation is cracking. Your sandbox is getting smaller, and it's > starting to smell like the cat got in there. Blah blah blah, enough with the tired cliches. The problem is exactly too many selfish whiners. They want more and more, without having to support the project, and then they want everyone to hold their hand through it. "Why doesnt my laptop touchpad work?" "When are you going to support Adaptec cards? FreeBSD supports it!" These people have zero understanding of OpenBSD or open source in general; and the sad part is, they don't even know it. Consider OpenBSD is doing them a favor by giving them a harsh reality check. One can only hope it will do them some good. > If you are waiting for the support of IBM, Cisco, Sun, or any other > vendor, get real. They don't give a damn. They don't care if OpenSSH > lives or dies. They already have the source code. OpenSSH is already > the world standard. Vendors do care. They have to care exactly because OpenSSH is the world standard. It would cost them far more to develop in house talent to maintain and extend the current codebase than it would to simply drop a $10K check to the project. > Look, I believe in directness more than anybody. It has saved my life > on a few occasions. But there is a big difference between directness > and arrogance. It is this arrogance that is stifling OpenBSD. It is > the culture. These days common sense and directness passes as arrogance. The *real* community cannot, will not, and should not spend cycles holding hands, filling out grants, and opening up non-profit groups. The goal here is to develop secure, open code that any and all can use to build a better computing environment for *everyone*. > So you can tell me to STFU and quit wasting your precious time that > could be spent coding. Fine. Your code is already beautiful. You > can wear it like a crown. It's the culture that needs improvement. > Example comes from above. Leadership starts at the top. Blah blah blah, more tired cliches. The culture here is exactly what made the code "beautiful". So kindly, STFU (-:
