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

Re: ESR, open source, etc.

Author:Paul L. Bruno
Posted:8/3/1999; 3:04:22 PM
Topic:Microsoft response to Instant Messaging
Msg #:9100 (In response to 9097)
Prev/Next:9099 / 9101

For everyone who isn't familiar with ESR beyond "The Cathedral and The Bazaar", please read ESR's description of his job (take-my-job-please) and the various follow-ups you'll find there. No one elected him, but no one can take his place either.

I'm not siding with him, I'm not disagreeing with him or with anyone posting here.

I wouldn't call anyone a farce. That said, some of what ESR and some of what RMS (Richard Stallman) have to say can be divisive and perhaps unfortunate in their extremism.

At the core of these kinds of statements is the debate between Open Source and Free Software -- hard to distinguish camps that oppose so-called closed software. We don't need to have this debate here, it rages on elsewhere. I don't think it's necessarily a big deal to most of the community (the silent majority), by that I mean it's not a matter of life or death whether it's open source or free software, and whether closed software is exterminated or not.

Some of this debate has the tone of "Four legs good, two legs bad." If you don't know what I'm talking about or don't agree, read (or reread) Animal Farm.

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