[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
> Russell Nelson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
> >
> > An OSI-approved Open Source license...And RMS (Richard M. Stallman)
>
> Note that many things are good and right, though unblessed by OSI and
> Richard "Source code for the workers or we shoot you" Stalin.
I think you should listen more closely to what RMS actually says these
days. Yes, he was rather strident in the past, but he has become much
more reasonable these days. He's willing to work with anyone who will
make their software more free than it currently is. But still, he
won't sign a nondisclosure, and he won't use software which is not
free (sometimes at great personal pain; e.g. he refrains from using
proprietary voice recognition software even though he has bad RSI).
> Note, too, that Dan seems to define "forking" differently than Eric
> Raymond. Changing the locations of vital files (usually for no
> particular reason)
The Debian standards put configuration files under /etc for a
particular reason (this has *always* been the standard place for Unix
configuration files). qmail does not, also for a particular reason.
The reasons differ and one could argue which is the best reason, but
because qmail is not open source, Dan wins the argument without need
for persuasion.
> As Dan pointed out before (and I hadn't realized till then), the author
> is responsible for supporting his product on every OS that runs it--RedHat
> and Debian, but also FreeBSD, Solaris, AIX, HP/UX and Unixware.
Right, and if someone changes the software, that person takes on the
support nightmare. Dan could quite reasonably say "I will only help
you if you are using an unpatched qmail."
> Dan doesn't want to be ``faced with a support nightmare---forever'', and
> I can't say I blame him.
There are many patches available for qmail, and Dan can neither detect
nor stop people from applying them, yet he does not seem to be living
a support nightmare.
--
-russ nelson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://russnelson.com
Crynwr sells support for free software | PGPok | "Ask not what your country
521 Pleasant Valley Rd. | +1 315 268 1925 voice | can force other people to
Potsdam, NY 13676-3213 | +1 315 268 9201 FAX | do for you..." -Perry M.
