Re: [Sheflug] SCO Again

[Alex Hudson <home [at] xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Wed, 2003-11-12 at 22:13, Duncan Entwisle wrote:
> The thing I find myself wondering is, just how nasty do you have to be 
> to hobbyists to make them throw their hands up in the air and walk away 
> in disgust? 

Most of the "important" kernel developers are not hobbyists; they're
commercial software developers working on the code for their employers.
So, the question is more like, what will it take to stop companies
developing free software?

> Could this undermine the movement? I'm sure people like RMS would fight 
> it out (and relish it too), but what about Linus? He's got a family, 
> he's not really into the politics, could he just walk away?

There was an article in Wired magazine recently, it had Linus on the
cover and made him look for all the world like Thom Yorke from
Radiohead. He answered this question, or one much like it, by saying
that he tried to keep out of this as much as possible. But, I don't get
the feeling that he would walk away. It's like when someone threatens
you on the street: RMS' attitude is more confrontational, trying to stop
the person being threatening. Linus' is more of a run-away attitude (it
should be noted that this is the first lesson taught in self defence
classes... ;). However, if the aggressor came after Linus I think he
would stand up for the contribution he has made - there is only so much
turning of the other cheek someone will do.

> P.S. Seeing as I'm nosey, and I can't find any information anywhere - 
> how is RMS's arm doing - I'd like to think that it was at least a 
> little less painful now (and that he'd have picked up one-handed qwerty 
> typing too).

Actually, it appears to be worse than originally suspected. He has
cancelled most, if not all, of his travels this year and his arm is
going to require more medical attention (it's not just a case of let it
heal and it'll be fine). It's actually a wonder he made the speeches in
England when he did; that tells you something about how strongly he
feels about his subject. I doubt very much after surgery that I would
have been in any kind of mood for public speaking.

Cheers,

Alex.

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