I realize I was wrong when I answered to this forum - I could not
expect my words to be interpreted this way. Please disregard my
previous message; I also unsubscribe from the list, to make you feel
sure I don't induce anyone into wrongdoing.
RenderX (--still wondering which of the two is more true: either his
employers have no idea what he's doing, or he doesn't care whether
they know... or he is his own employer trying to lure me into doing
something illegal --in which case he'll fail
I _am_ in the position to decide myself how much technical information
about RenderX XEP can be safely disclosed. But if you prefer to see
any word that comes from RenderX as a fraud attempt, you're welcome.
- hey, come to think of it, does RX need money or what? =D )
And they have the money - earned by writing software, not by cheating.
Yours truly,
Nikolai Grigoriev
XEP Project Leader
RenderX
- Original Message -
From: Andreas L. Delmelle [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Thursday, February 05, 2004 9:58 PM
Subject: RE: Just a small question...
-Original Message-
From: Glen Mazza [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Please do *not* share anything you find with the
team--We don't need any you-stole-our-code headaches
from the commercial implementations.
Ok, I won't
No offense, but I think you mistake my intentions here, Glen. If not, then
of course I appreciate your concern... Fact is, I have up to now blindly
refused to even have a glance at competing products, probably just because I
share these very same concerns.
To be honest: I was quite surprised to receive an answer from s.o. at
RenderX (--still wondering which of the two is more true: either his
employers have no idea what he's doing, or he doesn't care whether they
know... or he is his own employer trying to lure me into doing something
illegal --in which case he'll fail - hey, come to think of it, does RX need
money or what? =D )
Be careful, Andreas--RenderX or AntennaHouse code
should not be in FOP
I *will* be careful. I agree 100% with this, but I don't agree at all with
your stating that
--nor should FOP developers even
be looking at its internals. Matter of simple
integrity.
I think this is a bit over the top. Suppose that tomorrow, someone gets
fired at RX or AH, and this ex-employee decides to share some ideas with us.
Are we really going to tell him to take a hike?? Just because of simple
integrity? (Suppose that, before we find out, he has already submitted a few
patches that have been applied. Would we undo all of these patches, because
of 'simple integrity'?)
Please, don't get me wrong. I definitely appreciate the nobility of your
motives here, and I too would certainly enjoy the satisfaction of having it
done the honest way, whatever that means.
Stay away from their work--it's not worth
it!!! At worst, it's illegal, at best you're taking
away the reward--from everyone!--of coming up with a
comparable implementation.
It's --should I add: of course ?- not the intention to copy anything, just
gather some ideas.
I don't want FOP tarnished with 0.001% of RenderX
or AntennaHouse code (or inspired code).
My point exactly: how are we going to make sure of that if we're not even
meant to look at their internals? (Who knows, maybe it's 0.47%
already... Besides that, you never get to see the source from commercial
implementations --source in the strict sense -, unless you're working there
or know your bytecode by heart ;) )
If we can't provide a comparable implementation, then let us lose
honorably. If we can, we can then enjoy the
satisfaction of having done it the honest way, not by
copying work!
Are you by any chance familiar with (--Picasso's, I think...):
Bad artists copy, good artists --steal.
Look at the evolution of the human species, and ask yourself: what would
have happened if every generation had to start from scratch?
What I mean is: you won't find me copying anything! (To be honest, I'm a
little offended by the mere supposition that I might be inclined to do
that... )
Again, I *do* appreciate your concerns for the project as a whole, but I
strongly doubt whether these should be a reason to remain blind to other
peoples' approaches.
Cheers,
Andreas
