Archive of UserLand's first discussion group, started October 5, 1998.

Re: It's even worse than it appears

Author:Dave Winer
Posted:9/1/2000; 6:24:55 AM
Topic:scriptingNews outline for 8/28/2000
Msg #:20662 (In response to 20652)
Prev/Next:20661 / 20663

As for PR, the ebb and flow of the media is build it up, then tear it down. Open source is being lauded right now, but something will happen to turn the media against it, be it too much good press or linux company failures.

The problem is, when they do that, they'll be tearing down something important. The PR folk won't care, because if they program at all, it isn't what they do.

What's wrong with just talking about software?

I said to Jon Udell at the Open Source Convention last year, "This is a Web scripting conference." That's the common denominator that I see. Look at all those scripting languages and web servers.

Of course then I wondered where all the Mac people were. "Why no Mac people?"

These walls have got to come down. Not gradually, who wanted the walls in the first place. I didn't ask for them. The reason I switched to developing for the Internet is that there is no platform vendor. When we finally get to nirvana what do we do? Start erecting walls. Paving it over. P.U.

What I wanted to say to Brian Behlendorf but haven't had the chance yet, is if your methods are better they will produce better software and you will win. But if your methods are good for some things and not good for others, then the hype is only destroying the chances for those other things to find users and for progress to be made. I totally still believe this.

There are responses to this message:

This page was archived on 6/13/2001; 4:56:26 PM.

© Copyright 1998-2001 UserLand Software, Inc.