Slashdot Mirror

How many people know that George Orwell was just his pen name?

Who cares? No serious who cares? I know two things: Someone publishing under the name George Orwell wrote two absolutely brilliant books - 1984 and Animal Farm. Here in Canada at least when I was in Grade 9 it was required reading (and rightly so). However the real life of the person who wrote it, and whether their name was Kooky Deedooky or they ate monkey butter on their bagles means absolutely, positively nothing to me. A parallel is people who read People magazine to know whether Brad Pitt and Scooby Doobie are back together, etc: Who gives a shit? Either they can act or they can't, and beyond that I don't care. I'm not looking for a cult of personality.

This document is quite old, so some of it has been addresed by successive VMs/APIs.

You are wrong .

Now I will add some text to avoid the compression filter. Moronic filter.

This question was raised in the posting, but it begs a deeper question. Are OSS Projects dependant on their founder?. The imediate reaction is no, expecially in this case where she was not the founder. The closes to a single indevidual founder we could get for Mozilla would be Jamie Zawinski and the project continued on without him, but how many OSS projects are organized as a cult on personality? Is this a failing of social order of OSS, or is it just a failing of leadership and administration?

Large scale projects like Mozilla, and Apache could probably withstand a complete changing of the guard, but how many smaller prjects could handle such a change and still continue to produce quality software?

Does anyone have a mechanism to quantify the critical mass of an OSS project?

--CTH

Well it looks as if the entire computer community has finally decided to come out of the closet now. There was a joyous time in the industry when computer scientists were real men. Glory days. IBM, suits and ties, a real smooth operation. Unfortunately, with the decadence of the 1960's and 70's, a new generation of homosexual programmers have taken over.

Look around your IT department, notice all the pony tails? Only women and gay men have long hair.

But of course, this has been decently hidden. The homoeroticism of IT was at least a little discreet. But now, now you've all decided to put on your pink pansy dresses and worship that creator of computerized cocksucking, Alan Turing.

I'd like to say I'm suprised, but I'm not. It has come to my attention that the entire Linux community is a hotbed of so called 'alternative sexuality,' which includes anything from hedonistic orgies to homosexuality to pedophilia.

What better way of demonstrating this than by looking at the hidden messages contained within the names of some of Linux's most outspoken advocates:

Linus Torvalds is an anagram of SLIT ANUS OR VD 'L,' clearly referring to himself by the first initial.

Richard M. Stallman , spokespervert for the Gaysex is Not Unusual 'movement' is an anagram of MANS CRAM THRILL AD.

Alan Cox is barely an anagram of ANAL COX which is just so filthy and unchristian it unnerves me.

I'm sure that Eric S. Raymond, composer of the satanic homosexual propaganda diatribe The Cathedral and the Bizarre, [Buy At Amazon] is probably an anagram of something queer, but we don't need to look that far as we know he's always shoving a gun up some poor little boy's rectum. Update: Eric S. Raymond is actually an anagram for SECONDARY RIM and CORD IN MY ARSE. It just goes to show you that he is indeed queer.

Update the Second: It is also documented that Evil Sicko Gaymond is responsible for a nauseating piece of code called Fetchmail, which is obviously sinister sodomite slang for "Felch Male" - a disgusting practise. For those not in the know, "felching" is the act performed by two perverts wherein one sucks their own post-coital ejaculate out of the other's rectum. In fact, it appears that the dirty Linux faggots set out to undermine the good Republican institution of e-mail, turning it into "e-male."

As far as Richard "(cock)Master" Stallman goes, that filthy fudge-packer was actually quoted on leftist commie propaganda site Salon.com as saying the following:

RMS: "I've been resistant to the pressure to conform in any circumstance," he says. "It's about being able to question conventional wisdom," he asserts. "I believe in love, but not monogamy," he says plainly.

And this isn't a made up troll bullshit either! He actually stated this tripe, which makes it obvious that he is trying to politely say that he's a flaming homo slut!

Speaking about "flaming," who better to point out as a filthy chutney ferret than Slashdot's very own self-confessed pederast Jon Katz. Although an obvious deviant anagram cannot be found from his name, he has already confessed, nay boasted of the homosexual perversion of corrupting the innocence of young children. To quote from the article linked:

"I've got a rare kidney disease,' I told her. 'I have to go to the bathroom a lot. You can come with me if you want, but it takes a while. Is that okay with you? Do you want a note from my doctor?'

Is this why you were touching your penis in the cinema, Jon? And letting the other boys touch it too?

We should also point out that Jon Katz refers to himself as "Slashdot's resident Gasbag." Is there any more doubt? For those fortunate few who aren't aware of the list of homosexual terminology found inside the Linux "Sauce Code," a "Gasbag" is a pervert who gains sexual gratification from having a thin straw inserted into his urethra (or to use the common parlance, "piss-pipe"), then his homosexual lover blows firmly down the straw to inflate his scrotum. This is, of course, when he's not busy violating the dignity and copyright of posters to Slashdot by gathering together their postings and publishing them en masse to further his twisted and manipulative journalistic agenda.

Sick, disgusting antichristian perverts, the lot of them.

In addition, many of the Linux distributions (a 'distribution' is the most common way to spread the faggots' wares) are run by faggot groups. The Slackware distro is named after the Slack-wear fags wear to allow easy access to the anus for sexual purposes. Furthermore, Slackware is a close anagram of CLAW ARSE, a reference to the homosexual practise of anal fisting. The Mandrake product is run by a group of French faggot satanists, and is named after the faggot nickname for the vibrator. It was also chosen because it is an anagram for DARK AMEN and RAM NAKED, which is what they do.

Another "distro," (abbrieviated as such because it sounds a bit like "Disco," which is where homosexuals preyed on young boys in the 1970s), is Debian, an anagram of IN A BED, which could be considered innocent enough (after all, a bed is both where we sleep and pray), until we realise what other names Debian uses to describe their foul wares. "Woody" is obvious enough, being a term for the erect male penis, glistening with pre-cum. But far sicker is the phrase "Frozen Potato" that they use. This filthy term, again found in the secret homosexual "Sauce Code," refers to the solo homosexual practice of defecating into a clear polythene bag, shaping the turd into a crude approximation of the male phallus, then leaving it in the freezer overnight until it becomes solid. The practitioner then proceeds to push the frozen 'potato' up his own rectum, squeezing it in and out until his tight young balls erupt in a screaming orgasm.

And Red Hat is secret homo slang for the tip of a penis that is soaked in blood from a freshly violated underage ringpiece.

The fags have even invented special tools to aid their faggotry! For example, the "supermount" tool was devised to allow deeper penetration, which is good for fags because it gives more pressure on the prostate gland. "Automount" is used, on the other hand, because Linux users are all fat and gay, and need to mount each other automatically.

The depths of their depravity can be seen in their use of "mount points." These are, plainly speaking, the different points of penetration. The main one is obviously /anus, but there are others. Militant fags even say "There is no /opt mount point" because for these dirty perverts faggotry is not optional but a way of life.

More evidence is in the fact that Linux users say how much they love 'man', even going so far as to say that all new Linux users (who are in fact just innocent heterosexuals indoctrinated by the gay propaganda) should try out 'man'. In no other system do users boast of their frequent recourse to a man.

Other areas of the system also show Linux's inherit gayness. For example, people are often told of the "FAQ," but how many innocent heterosexual Windows users know what this actually means. The answer is shocking: Faggot Anal Quest: the voyage of discovery for newly converted fags!

Even the title "Slashdot" originally referred to a homosexual practice. Slashdot of course refers to the popular gay practice of blood-letting. The Slashbots, of course are those super-zealous homosexuals who take this perversion to its extreme by ripping open their anuses, as seen on the site most popular with Slashdot users, the depraved work of Satan, http://www.goatse.cx/.

The editors of Slashdot also have homosexual names: "Hemos" is obvious in itself, being one vowel away from "Homos." But even more sickening is "Commander Taco" which sounds a bit like "Commode in Taco," filthy gay slang for a pair of spreadeagled buttocks that are caked with excrement. (The best form of lubrication, they insist.) Sometimes, these "Taco Commodes" have special "Salsa Sauce" (blood from a ruptured rectum) and "Cheese" (rancid flakes of penis discharge) toppings. And to make it even worse, Slashdot runs on Apache!

The Apache server, whose use among fags is as prevalent as AIDS, is named after homosexual activity -- as everyone knows, popular faggot band, The Village People, featured an Apache Indian, and it is for him that this gay program is named.

And that's not forgetting the use of patches in the Linux fag world -- patches are used to make the anus accessible for repeated anal sex even after its rupture by a session of fisting.

To summarise: Linux is gay. "Slash - Dot" is the graphical description of the space between a young boy's scrotum and anus. And BeOS is for hermaphrodites and disabled "stumpers."

FEEDBACK

What worries me is how much you know about what gay people do. I'm scared I actually read this whole thing. I think this post is a good example of the negative effects of Internet usage on people. This person obviously has no social life anymore and had to result to writing something as stupid as this. And actually take the time to do it too. Although... I think it was satire.. blah.. it's early. - Anonymous Coward, Slashdot

Well, the only reason I know all about this is because I had the misfortune to read the Linux "Sauce code" once. Although publicised as the computer code needed to get Linux up and running on a computer (and haven't you always been worried about the phrase "Monolithic Kernel"?), this foul document is actually a detailed and graphic description of every conceivable degrading perversion known to the human race, as well as a few of the major animal species. It has shocked and disturbed me, to the point of needing to shock and disturb the common man to warn them of the impending homo-calypse which threatens to engulf our planet.

You must work for the government. Trying to post the most obscene stuff in hopes that slashdot won't be able to continue or something, due to legal woes. If i ever see your ugly face, i'm going to stick my fireplace poker up your ass, after it's nice and hot, to weld shut that nasty gaping hole of yours. - Anonymous Coward, Slashdot

Doesn't it give you a hard-on to imagine your thick strong poker ramming it's way up my most sacred of sphincters? You're beyond help, my friend, as the only thing you can imagine is the foul penetrative violation of another man. Are you sure you're not Eric Raymond? The government, being populated by limp-wristed liberals, could never stem the sickening tide of homosexual child molesting Linux advocacy. Hell, they've given NAMBLA free reign for years!

you really should post this logged in. i wish i could remember jebus's password, cuz i'd give it to you. - mighty jebus, Slashdot

Thank you for your kind words of support. However, this document shall only ever be posted anonymously. This is because the "Open Sauce" movement is a sham, proposing homoerotic cults of hero worshipping in the name of freedom. I speak for the common man. For any man who prefers the warm, enveloping velvet folds of a woman's vagina to the tight puckered ringpiece of a child. These men, being common, decent folk, don't have a say in the political hypocrisy that is Slashdot culture. I am the unknown liberator.

ROLF LAMO i hate linux FAGGOTS - Anonymous Coward, Slashdot

We shouldn't hate them, we should pity them for the misguided fools they are... Fanatical Linux zeal-outs need to be herded into camps for re-education and subsequent rehabilitation into normal heterosexual society. This re-education shall be achieved by forcing them to watch repeats of Baywatch until the very mention of Pamela Anderson causes them to fill their pants with healthy heterosexual jism.

Actually, that's not at all how scrotal inflation works. I understand it involves injecting sterile saline solution into the scrotum. I've never tried this, but you can read how to do it safely in case you're interested.

(Before you moderate this down, ask yourself honestly - who are the real crazies - people who do scrotal inflation, or people who pay $1000+ for a game console?) - double_h, Slashdot

Well, it just goes to show that even the holy Linux "sauce code" is riddled with bugs that need fixing. (The irony of Jon Katz not even being able to inflate his scrotum correctly has not been lost on me.) The Linux pervert elite already acknowledge this, with their queer slogan: "Given enough arms, all rectums are shallow." And anyway, the PS2 sucks major cock and isn't worth the money. Intellivision forever!

dude did u used to post on msnbc's nt bulletin board now that u are doing anti-gay posts u also need to start in with anti-black stuff too c u in church - Anonymous Coward, Slashdot

For one thing, whilst Linux is a cavalcade of queer propaganda masquerading as the future of computing, NT is used by people who think nothing better of encasing their genitals in quick setting plaster then going to see a really dirty porno film, enjoying the restriction enforced onto them. Remember, a wasted arousal is a sin in the eyes of the Catholic church. Clearly, the only god-fearing Christian operating system in existence is CP/M -- The Christian Program Monitor. All computer users should immediately ask their local pastor to install this fine OS onto their systems. It is the only route to salvation.

Secondly, this message is for every man. Computers know no colour. Not only that, but one of the finest websites in the world is maintained by A Black Man . Now fuck off you racist donkey felcher.

And don't forget that slashdot was written in Perl, which is just too close to "Pearl Necklace" for comfort.... oh wait; that's something all you heterosexuals do.... I can't help but wonder how much faster the trolls could do First-Posts on this site if it were redone in PHP... I could hand-type dynamic HTML pages faster than Perl can do them. - phee, Slashdot

Although there is nothing unholy about the fine heterosexual act of ejaculating between a woman's breasts, squirting one's load up towards her neck and chin area, it should be noted that Perl (standing for Pansies Entering Rectums Locally) is also close to "Pearl Monocle", "Pearl Nosering", and the ubiquitous "Pearl Enema".

One scary thing about Perl is that it contains hidden homosexual messages. Take the following code: LWP::Simple -- It looks innocuous enough, doesn't it? But look at the line closely: There are two colons next to each other! As Larry "Balls to the" Wall would openly admit in the Perl Documentation, Perl was designed from the ground up to indoctrinate it's programmers into performing unnatural sexual acts -- having two colons so closely together is clearly a reference to the perverse sickening act of "colon kissing," whereby two homosexual queers spread their buttocks wide, pressing their filthy torn sphincters together. They then share small round objects like marbles or golfballs by passing them from one rectum to another using muscle contraction alone. This is also referred to in programming 'circles' as "Parameter Passing".

And PHP stands for Perverted Homosexual Penetration. Didn't you know?

Thank you for your valuable input on this. I am sure you will be never forgotten. BTW: Did I mention that this could be useful in terraforming Mars? Mars rulaa. - Eimernase, Slashdot

Well, I don't know about terraforming Mars, but I DO know that homosexual Linux Advocates have been probing Uranus for years.

That's inspiring. Keep up the good work, AC. May God in his wisdom grant you the strength to bring the plain honest truth to this community, and make it pure again. Yours, Cerberus. - Anonymous Coward, Slashdot

*sniff* That brings a tear to my eye. Thank you once more for your kind support. I have taken faith in the knowledge that I am doing the Good Lord's work, but it is encouraging to know that I am helping out the common man here.

However, I should be cautious about revealing your name 'Cerberus' on such a filthy den of depravity as Slashdot. It is a well known fact that the 'Kerberos' documentation from Microsoft is a detailed manual describing, in intimate, exacting detail, how to sexually penetrate a variety of unwilling canine animals; be they domesticated, wild, or mythical. Slashdot posters have taken great pleasure in illegally spreading this documentation far and wide, treating it as an "extension" to the Linux "Sauce Code," for the sake of "interoperability." (The slang term they use for non-consensual intercourse - their favourite kind.)

In fact, sick twisted Linux deviants are known to have LAN parties, (Love of Anal Naughtiness, needless to say.), wherein they entice a stray dog, known as the "Samba Mount," into their homes. Up to four of these filth-sodden blasphemers against nature take turns to plunge their erect, throbbing, uncircumcised members, conkers-deep, into the rectum, mouth, and other fleshy orifices of the poor animal. Eventually, the "Samba Mount" collapses due to "overload," and needs to be "rebooted." (i.e., kicked out into the street, and left to fend for itself.) Many Linux users boast about their "uptime" in such situations.

Inspiring stuff! If only all trolls were this quality! - Anonymous Coward, Slashdot

If only indeed. You can help our brave cause by moderating this message up as often as possible. I recommend +1, Underrated, as that will protect your precious Karma in Metamoderation. Only then can we break through the glass ceiling of Homosexual Slashdot Culture. Is it any wonder that the new version of Slashcode has been christened "Bender"???

If we can get just one of these postings up to at least '+1,' then it will be archived forever! Others will learn of our struggle, and join with us in our battle for freedom!

It's pathetic you've spent so much time writing this. - Anonymous Coward, Slashdot

I am compelled to document the foulness and carnal depravity that is Linux, in order that we may prepare ourselves for the great holy war that is to follow. It is my solemn duty to peel back the foreskin of ignorance and apply the wire brush of enlightenment.

As with any great open-source project, you need someone asking this question, so I'll do it. When the hell is version 2.0 going to be ready?!?! - Anonymous Coward, Slashdot

I could make an arrogant, childish comment along the lines of "Every time someone asks for 2.0, I won't release it for another 24 hours," but the truth of the matter is that I'm quite nervous of releasing a "number two," as I can guarantee some filthy shit-slurping Linux pervert would want to suck it straight out of my anus before I've even had chance to wipe.

I desperately want to suck your monolithic kernel, you sexy hunk, you. - Anonymous Coward, Slashdot

I sincerely hope you're Natalie Portman.

Dude, nothing on slashdot larger than 3 paragraphs is worth reading. Try to distill the message, whatever it was, and maybe I'll read it. As it is, I have to much open source software to write to waste even 10 seconds of precious time. 10 seconds is all its gonna take M$ to whoop Linux's ass. Vigilence is the price of Free (as in libre -- from the fine, frou frou French language) Software. Hack on fellow geeks, and remember: Friday is Bouillabaisse day except for heathens who do not believe that Jesus died for their sins. Those godless, oil drench, bearded sexist clowns can pull grits from their pantaloons (another fine, fine French word) and eat that. Anyway, try to keep your message focused and concise. For concision is the soul of derision. Way. - Anonymous Coward, Slashdot

What the fuck?

I've read your gay conspiracy post version 1.3.0 and I must say I'm impressed. In particular, I appreciate how you have managed to squeeze in a healthy dose of the latent homosexuality you gay-bashing homos tend to be full of. Thank you again. - Anonymous Coward, Slashdot

Well bugger me!

ooooh honey. how insecure are you!!! wann a little massage from deare bruci. love you - Anonymous Coward, Slashdot

Fuck right off!

IMPORTANT: This message needs to be heard (Not HURD, which is an acronym for Huge Unclean Rectal Dilator) across the whole community, so it has been released into the Public Domain. You know, that licence that we all had before those homoerotic crypto-fascists came out with the GPL (Gay Penetration License, according to geekacronyms.org) that is no more than an excuse to see who's got the biggest feces-encrusted cock. I would have put this up on Freshmeat, but that name is KNOWN to be a euphemism for the tight rump of a young boy.

Come to think of it, the whole concept of "Source Control" unnerves me, because it sounds a bit like "Sauce Control," which is a description of the homosexual practice of holding the base of the cock shaft tightly upon the point of ejaculation, thus causing a build up of semenal fluid that is only released upon entry into an incision made into the base of the receiver's scrotum. And "Open Sauce" is the act of ejaculating into another mans face or perhaps a biscuit to be shared later. Obviously, "Closed Sauce" is the only Christian thing to do, as evidenced by the fact that it is what Cathedrals are all about.

Contributors: (although not to the eternal game of "soggy biscuit" that open "sauce" development has become) Anonymous Coward, Anonymous Coward, phee, Anonymous Coward, mighty jebus, Anonymous Coward, Anonymous Coward, double_h, Anonymous Coward, Eimernase, Anonymous Coward, Anonymous Coward, Anonymous Coward, Anonymous Coward, Anonymous Coward, Anonymous Coward, Anonymous Coward, Anonymous Coward, The WIPO Troll, FreeWIPO, Bring BackATV. Further contributions are welcome.

Current changes: This version is based on the all-too-rare backup copy sent to FreeWIPO by 'Bring BackATV' as plain text. Re-reformatted everything, added all links back in (that we could match from the previous version), many new ones (Slashbot bait links). Even more spelling fixed. Additional stuff done in preparation for the future.

Previous changes: Yet more changes added. Spelling fixed. Feedback added. Explanation of 'distro' system. 'Mount Point' syntax described. More filth regarding 'man' and Slashdot. Yet more fucking spelling fixed. 'Fetchmail' uncovered further. More Slashbot baiting. Apache exposed. Distribution licence at foot of document.

ANUX -- A full Linux distribution... Up your ass!

Obligatory Netscape story.

Obligatory text to avoid the postercomment compression filter. I'm beginning to think that the trolls are right about Taco not being able to code; considering how much ASCII art I've seen in the last couple weeks, it's amazing that my little bit of HTML won't fly...

Does it have to be a requirement that there will always be bugs?
I would like to believe that given strong specifications, proper coding practice, accounting for situations, and no unreasonable time constraints, it's possible to produce a bug-free piece of software that performs its task correctly on a given system... I've read Worse is Better

I realise this is a flame and that I shouldn't answer it but who have said that you can order a distro, have it set up for you for zero cost, give you support for zero cost and everything else for zero cost.

Before talking about free software in terms of the GPL (The licence Linux has) make sure you know
or at least have a some knowledge in what you are talking about. Browse an hour and you will realise that we are not talking about zero cost but different freedoms they think you should have with software. Of course you may not agree with this but at least you can debate it.

Its past midnight and I've been going for 16 hours today.

This has to be a typo, right? I pretty much do this every single day of my life, as do most of the people here. ( Except for the college students, who stay up past 4am and have been going for 36 hours.) Or maybe you've been working for 16 hours, which while it probably isn't an everyday occurance for most of us, isn't exactly uncommon either.

Complaining about 16 hours or work isn't going to impress anyone. Re-read some of JWZ's stories to recalibrate your "that was lots of work" meter.

P.S. Don't get me wrong, I do like the new features a bunch. Rock on.

Camouflage.

Been done before...

jwz's tent-of-doom

While at my last company, I got inspiration from JWZ's famous tent of doom. I went to an army surplus store and purchased a 40ft. x 20ft. camouflage net and hung it above my cube. Needless to say, this generated some interesting topics of discussion around the office.

Since that time I've been laid off from that dot com and moved on to another. I've still got the net but I haven't hung it up at the current digs yet.

Take a look at how Jamie Zawinski did it.

Finding enough capable programmers and system administrators proved to be the primary obstacle for the project.

But: whining about it is not going to help. What I ask you -- as users, developers, fans, whatever -- what can we do to ensure this never happens again?

____________________________
2*b || !(2*b) is a tautology

Okay, i will avoid the WAY TOO EASY crack on "Canadian Officials", and simply point to the fact that many people, especially those responsible for large chunks of digital life as we know it, including Richar Stallman, emacs guru, and Jamie Zawinsky, mozilla guru, suffer from something, whatever you want to call it. You should really take a look at Jamie Zawinski's excellent page dealing with this fact, and only expect it to get more and more important as we progress into the age where people are typing starting at age 5.

"Although I think Richard Stallman venting his rage does compare."

No it does not compare. For one he does not lie to the press and public.

I've heard an MP3 of RMS singing to the public. I'd prefer that he would lie instead...

And after fighting with Mozilla for three hours over whether or not ALIGN="right" meant to move the images in the table cell over to the right or not, I finally have up and just redirected all Mozilla hits to microsoft.com.

I for one like the idea of openly published source code, but I think the GPL is actualyl too restrictive, as opposed to being unrestrictive. The LGPL goes a long way to help, though. The BSD license is great. I think I may like the MPL/NPL the best though. I think people SHOULD be able to make money on their work, and if they see fit to include some piece of someone else's code to make the project bettr, then they should be able to, but with proper credit (and maybe some profit sharing too) for the contributor.

But I feel RMS goes too far. At the risk of precious Karma, I somewhat share JWZ's feelings on the matter...

--

http://www.jwz.org/gruntle/wrists.html

First of all, it would be trivial to present users with a simplistic interface having 6 or 7 icons for basic applications, then another for "Full System Access" which would grant the user the as complete a level of access as JWZ sees fit. As the previous poster mentioned, most kiosk users are inclined to check stocks, perhaps send an email or two using the webmail system of their preference, and that's about it.

This functionality will exist for that market ssegment however there will be additional functionality agailable for the geeks who someone else pointed out will be frequenting the club. The system will probably work quite well and those of us who are routinely annoyed by the lack of funtionality of treditional kiosks will have more flexibility.

One minor and trivial issue that I didn't see mentioned (I may have just missed it) was a system state reset on a period of inactivity. This may not include a reboot, but simply a reset to a standard opening state, like the afore mentioned simplified interface, such that when a geek leaves the kiosk without resetting it (like that would ever happen) the next user wouldn't be thrown into an enviroment which would be confusing or not useful to that less technical person. This could be setup as a screensaver, perhaps it would work as an extension of XScreenSaver, but there would have to be such a mechanism, or an easy hardware reset, but as I said before such a hardware reset would probably take a while (especially booting a kernel and mounting everything over the network (On a P200, I don't know how much time that would take...)

--CTH

--

Gel wrist pads? You know you are not supposed to rest your wrists on anything as you type?

Read what JWZ has to say.

Og, I'm turning into a fan boy. Oh well, postmodern.

--

Their argument against open-sourcing the client has always been that this would allow cheaters and that people would use modified clients that didn't crunch the numbers right. To which I have always responded that with any distributed computational task running on untrusted clients, you would have to do this sort of redundant analysis on each data block anyway. Even a closed-source client can be hacked fairly easily if you really wanted to, so not releasing the source doesn't magically guarantee the validity of any client-side processing. It's nice to see SETI@Home finally acknowledge what some of us have known all along.

So, when will we be seeing the client source code available for download? I'm all ready to start working on an Xscreensaver module for it.

Caution: contents may be quarrelsome and meticulous!

But anyway, the site doesn't even say the FSF is officially getting involved, let alone that the case is going before a judge anytime soon. I'm thinking "enforce" means "Send a cease-and-desist letter and explain their interpretation in more detail."

Unsettling MOTD at my ISP.

Yeah, I'm sure he is... his Mozilla resignation letter sure makes for entertaining reading now. An object lesson in the value of sticking with it, through thick and thin?

Or maybe he's just having more fun with his other massive, over-budget, behind schedule project. I'm actually hoping he won't give up on DNA... It could be very cool, but it doesn't have the structural resilience of an open source project, where others can take over if the leader loses the faith.

Q

I'm sure Jamie Zawinskiis thrilled about this. It seemed that he took it as a personal failure that Mozilla.org didn't take off in it's first year of operation. In the last 6 months it seems to have been holding it's own and here's one of the proofs of that theory. Keep up the good work guys.

--CTH

--

Just reading this article made me chuckle, realizing how different it is in the US. JWZ had some pontification about Netscape's internal email being public during legal wars with M$.

At my current job, we've got a couple levels of communication.. the internal discussion boards, and the real secret never talked about in public ancient communications method. While the whining we do isn't about a billion dollar megacorporation that can send a barrel full of lawyers to yank it out, I wonder what exactly determines who has the rights to what discussion in the US. I know it isn't as free as Canada, but where exactly is the line drawn?

personally i have perl scripts that extract ID3 information and store stuff like the CD# i burned it on or directory it is currently in, bitrate, size, filename, all ID3 info in a text file and that can be searched easily. that way it is easy to find songs by searchnig and i don't have to rename them all the time.

That's easy: right-click, open in new window, and finish reading your article. When you close the article you're reading, the advertisement you've clicked through is waiting. Of course, that leans back towards the original idea of getting an idea in your head but doing something about it later, albeit not much.

However, I do this all the time when I come across a link I want to follow but first want to finish what I'm in the middle of. For some practice, just start browsing through some of JWZ's site--you have to keep track of yourself or you'll get lost there!

"I say consider this day seized!" -Hobbes

Join us next week for stories such as "Jewish vs. Christian", "Emacs vs. vi", and "PERL vs Python"

AFAIK, the only things that have really happened on this day in history was the announcement of a certain endless OSS project three years ago, and the resignation of a certain lead on that project...

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An idea on handling getting the messages would include grabbing the phone number from call display and cross referencing it with info from a reverse telephone lookup service. Then you can pass all the information into e-mail form, then to check your messages all you have to do is fire up your e-mail client and it'll show up if a new message is waiting and you can even include the audio file as an attachment. This would also make it pretty easy to get your messages from anywhere in the world.

Just an idea, I believe Nortel or someone is doing something similar to this so I guess I'm really stealing thier idea, but it sounds like a fairly good one to me.

Although not the same project at all, JWZ uses his computer for caller identification. You may want to check that out for some ideas, especially if you want to log caller id info.

An idea on handling getting the messages would include grabbing the phone number from call display and cross referencing it with info from a reverse telephone lookup service. Then you can pass all the information into e-mail form, then to check your messages all you have to do is fire up your e-mail client and it'll show up if a new message is waiting and you can even include the audio file as an attachment. This would also make it pretty easy to get your messages from anywhere in the world.

Just an idea, I believe Nortel or someone is doing something similar to this so I guess I'm really stealing thier idea, but it sounds like a fairly good one to me.

Although not the same project at all, JWZ uses his computer for caller identification. You may want to check that out for some ideas, especially if you want to log caller id info.

The liability of discussions groups and archives of such came out quite vividly with Netscape vs. Microsoft vs. The World. There was an internal news server, and two of the groups on that server gained Microsoft's attention: 'Bad Attitude' and 'Really Bad Attitude'. Microsoft subpoenaed the whole thing, and Netscape got a lesson in uniform application of their Document Retention Policy.

• (Jamie Zawinski's
• account of the fiasco)

• Discussion groups meet the legal standard for "written communication" They can be subpoenaed. You can go to jail for contempt of court if you try to refuse.

  So...

• Make a retention policy and stick to it!
• Certain topics/information have statutory retention lengths. Make sure you're legal, and going to keep whatever branch of the government happy (SEC, IRS, FBI, ATF, TLA...)
• On the other hand, if there is something ethically questionable or possibly criminal discussed, you can be held liable for destruction of evidence if you know the contents, and then erase the messages. If the CEO comes down and says "Erase everything in company.financial.off_shore_bank.secret_accounts", don't read it first.
• Similarly, be mindful of what's on your backup tapes, and where they are. If there is confidential intellectual property discussed, take the extra steps to safeguard it.

  Last thing,

• Remember that retention policy!

It's not like bugs can be fixed in five minutes of work by someone who isn't comfortable with the source- if they were that simple, they probably would have been corrected before leaving.

JWZ summarized it pretty well when he quit. http://www.jwz.org/gruntle/nomo.html

And being the manager of a small open source project, I can tell you first hand- a very small percentage of the users do 99% of the work. Tough rap, eh?

I wouldn't really want to go to one.

But I think jwz has the right idea with his new project; it looks like it will be extremely cool, and there's some 'geek' element to it by the inclusion of a pack of Linux terminals.

It's already been ported:

bluescr.tar.gz, uses svgalib

part of xscreensaver, about 4/5 down the page

Well, first, you should probably check out DNA Lounge. jwz (of Mozilla fame) is working on it, and he has some interesting notions.

I think that one of the important features is that it's somewhere where geeks can socialize offline. I've been to cyber-cafes and they are pretty lame. I think that jwz had it right when he decided to not be a cyber-cafe, while still retaining the geekish computer-centric attitude.

I think that you are on the right track with the video games. That appeals to the population you want and enables you to have more than just a terminal room.

I would say that you should have music at your club, since most geeks that I know will really appreciate it. See about getting live bands and DJs. But, based on my geek-centric concert activities, you want to turn the volume down below the earsplitting level, especially off of the dance floor. Most of my geek friends seem to dislike places where they can't hold a conversation. But you might as well invest in excess capacity so that you have the potential to crank up if I'm making a generilization that doesn't hold.

You didn't mention where you were located. Location is very important, because you need to be in a place where there are a good number of geeks. Bay Area good, Podunk Illinois bad.

Make it no smoking and have a wide assortment of drinks -- both alchaholic and non. Most geeks tend to have more diverse tastes in both categories, plus a lot of geeks don't smoke. You can always tweak both depending on demand.

And finally, make it look geek. Not cheezy-geek, but geek-chic. Comfortable, yet futuristic. You get the idea.

Not something straight forward and stand alone, his solution covers everything from determining whether or not the phone will ring to pulling up information on the caller -- similar to what William Calvin describes.

• It listens to the com port of a standard voice modem for Caller-ID info
• Based on the Caller-ID (and its' entry in the database) it determines what action to take
• Time-of-day and screensaver aware -- if you're asleep (and your computer is too), the phone doesn't ring.

The code for all this is available, perhaps it will help push things in the right direction.

• Program Description: Caller ID Hack (Overview)
• Database Program: The Insidious Big Brother Database
• CODE: Modem control & database interface
• CODE: Phone-ring-sound script (Parts are specific to SGI)
• CODE: Laptop-Home call notification

Not something straight forward and stand alone, his solution covers everything from determining whether or not the phone will ring to pulling up information on the caller -- similar to what William Calvin describes.

• It listens to the com port of a standard voice modem for Caller-ID info
• Based on the Caller-ID (and its' entry in the database) it determines what action to take
• Time-of-day and screensaver aware -- if you're asleep (and your computer is too), the phone doesn't ring.

The code for all this is available, perhaps it will help push things in the right direction.

• Program Description: Caller ID Hack (Overview)
• Database Program: The Insidious Big Brother Database
• CODE: Modem control & database interface
• CODE: Phone-ring-sound script (Parts are specific to SGI)
• CODE: Laptop-Home call notification

Not something straight forward and stand alone, his solution covers everything from determining whether or not the phone will ring to pulling up information on the caller -- similar to what William Calvin describes.

• It listens to the com port of a standard voice modem for Caller-ID info
• Based on the Caller-ID (and its' entry in the database) it determines what action to take
• Time-of-day and screensaver aware -- if you're asleep (and your computer is too), the phone doesn't ring.

The code for all this is available, perhaps it will help push things in the right direction.

• Program Description: Caller ID Hack (Overview)
• Database Program: The Insidious Big Brother Database
• CODE: Modem control & database interface
• CODE: Phone-ring-sound script (Parts are specific to SGI)
• CODE: Laptop-Home call notification

Not something straight forward and stand alone, his solution covers everything from determining whether or not the phone will ring to pulling up information on the caller -- similar to what William Calvin describes.

• It listens to the com port of a standard voice modem for Caller-ID info
• Based on the Caller-ID (and its' entry in the database) it determines what action to take
• Time-of-day and screensaver aware -- if you're asleep (and your computer is too), the phone doesn't ring.

The code for all this is available, perhaps it will help push things in the right direction.

• Program Description: Caller ID Hack (Overview)
• Database Program: The Insidious Big Brother Database
• CODE: Modem control & database interface
• CODE: Phone-ring-sound script (Parts are specific to SGI)
• CODE: Laptop-Home call notification

Not something straight forward and stand alone, his solution covers everything from determining whether or not the phone will ring to pulling up information on the caller -- similar to what William Calvin describes.

• It listens to the com port of a standard voice modem for Caller-ID info
• Based on the Caller-ID (and its' entry in the database) it determines what action to take
• Time-of-day and screensaver aware -- if you're asleep (and your computer is too), the phone doesn't ring.

The code for all this is available, perhaps it will help push things in the right direction.

• Program Description: Caller ID Hack (Overview)
• Database Program: The Insidious Big Brother Database
• CODE: Modem control & database interface
• CODE: Phone-ring-sound script (Parts are specific to SGI)
• CODE: Laptop-Home call notification

Not something straight forward and stand alone, his solution covers everything from determining whether or not the phone will ring to pulling up information on the caller -- similar to what William Calvin describes.

• It listens to the com port of a standard voice modem for Caller-ID info
• Based on the Caller-ID (and its' entry in the database) it determines what action to take
• Time-of-day and screensaver aware -- if you're asleep (and your computer is too), the phone doesn't ring.

The code for all this is available, perhaps it will help push things in the right direction.

• Program Description: Caller ID Hack (Overview)
• Database Program: The Insidious Big Brother Database
• CODE: Modem control & database interface
• CODE: Phone-ring-sound script (Parts are specific to SGI)
• CODE: Laptop-Home call notification

Not something straight forward and stand alone, his solution covers everything from determining whether or not the phone will ring to pulling up information on the caller -- similar to what William Calvin describes.

• It listens to the com port of a standard voice modem for Caller-ID info
• Based on the Caller-ID (and its' entry in the database) it determines what action to take
• Time-of-day and screensaver aware -- if you're asleep (and your computer is too), the phone doesn't ring.

The code for all this is available, perhaps it will help push things in the right direction.

• Program Description: Caller ID Hack (Overview)
• Database Program: The Insidious Big Brother Database
• CODE: Modem control & database interface
• CODE: Phone-ring-sound script (Parts are specific to SGI)
• CODE: Laptop-Home call notification

Ah, but his page lists the following:


Mosaic Netscape Back before you had heard of Netscape, I was responsible for the Unix versions of Netscape Navigator through release 1.1.


Netscape Mail & News Next, I designed, and Terry Weissman and I implemented, the Netscape Mail and News clients, versions 2.0 through 3.0. This was our contribution to the proof of the Law of Software Envelopment:

``Every program attempts to expand until it can read mail. Those programs which cannot so expand are replaced by ones which can.''

Basically, he ported Netscape 1.0 and 1.1 to UNIX, then wrote the Communicator mail and news clients. That's pretty cool and all, but it doesn't make him an authority on anything... at least, in my mind. He's more of the old-guard than anything else, to my way of thinking.

I didn't think I posted enough on Slashdot for anyone to take notice of me, much less my name. :)

No, JWZ didn't write the bad parts of Mail & News (i.e., 4.0), and he wrote a lot of the core browser; check his page. He also RAN the Mozilla project, as well as having written xscreensaver, xdaliclock, dadadodo, and lots of other cool stuff.

Lots of UNIX systems have Netscape installed; they might also have lynx, and around here possibly a few file browsers that double as web browsers, IE for Solaris or HP/UX, Amaya, and a host of other forgotten browsers.

And, AFAIK, Stallman wouldn't be terribly happy with Mozilla, because it isn't GPL'ed. The MPL ain't bad, but I'm sure he'd find something to object to in there. Now *that* would be somewhat amusing.

In short, reply to someone who knows less about the subject next time, Matt. :)
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pb Reply or e-mail; don't vaguely moderate.

remember jwz??

``Every program attempts to expand until it can read mail. Those programs which cannot so expand are replaced by ones which can.''

I can only point you to:

Kaa's Law: In any sufficiently large group of people most are idiots.
Hunter's Corollary: All corporations are, by default, sufficiently large groups of people.

IMO, the problem has never been getting smart people to deliver good code. The real problem is getting the "less than gifted" to produce good (or adequate) code.

It is a rare organization that employs only guru-level employees. What about the remaining organizations? Are they doomed to failure?

To this, I point to Richard Gabriel's well-written essay "Worse is Better" (available at: this location).

Cheers,
Slak

No, I maintain that it is not a holy war: holy wars always concern personal preference; the tabs vs spaces debate is one of technical interoperability.

...but the way to solve that problem is to fix the editor, not the code.

I disagree, and rather than repeat the arguments myself, I point you here.
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Is that the same as why cooperation with RMS is impossible?