On Friday 17 Jan 2003 10:33 pm, Ben Reser wrote: > Vahur Lokk wrote on Thu, 16 Jan 2003 01:54: > > I read his proposal in a little bit different way. Supporters of > > Mandrake are currently doing big efforts to keep the company alive but > > it is true that our money goes to cover old debts, not to develop a new > > better distro. Ben shows a way to get rid of these old problems without > > losing our beloved distro. In the bitter end, if Mandrakesoft cannot > > survive, it will be the _only_ way. We are fortunate. Unlike many other > > distros Mandrake community is strong enough to have this option. Can it > > result in a fork? Yes it can. Think how different is our understanding > > of the same text. Is a fork dangerous? Yes it is. Mandrake community > > might be strong but splitting into two will weaken it significantly. > > Therefore timing is vital in taking real action. But being (at least > > mentally) prepared for that will help. > > Thank you. This is along the lines of what I intended by my article. > It was an effort to create some discussion in the community about our > options. It's obviously achieved that effect. > > Unfortunately, shortly after it was published things changed > drastically. The bankruptcy filing offers an alternative opportunity > out of the financial situation Mandrakesoft is in. It was certainly one > that I considered. However, the Mandrake Community could not take that > step. > > I am as interested in the coming months what Mandrakesoft will do to > deal with these challenges. The bankruptcy filing gives me some hope > that they will be able to survive without spending millions of euros > towards things that don't really benefit the community. > > But ultimately, what got us here was poor business management.
But do bear in mind that it was not the current management that made those decisions, but the management put in by the venture capitalists, who, true to type, got out again when they found no quick buck, leaving a trail of devastation. > No > matter how much I like the product, I will not desperately try to save a > dying company. If it survives great. But I will not be standing there > doing CPR on it. Especially, not when there is an alternative, as I > presented, for the community. > > We'll all just have to wait and see what happens over the next few > months. Nothing more we can do, other than keeping positive until events prove otherwise. Anne -- Registered Linux User No.293302
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