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ESR steps down from OSI

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the holstering-his-pistol dept.

Hope Thelps writes "According to an article on news.com.com, Eric Raymond is stepping down from his role as president of the OSI. His replacement will be our very own Russ Nelson. "

12 of 503 comments (clear)

  1. It looks like.. by Joseph+Vigneau · · Score: 4, Funny

    Looks like Eric finally accepted the job offer from Microsoft.

    Just kidding Eric, don't shoot me! :^)

    1. Re:It looks like.. by dcrocha · · Score: 4, Funny

      I don't think so. He stepped aside to get some more time to work in his projects like: fetchmail, and... hm... and...yeah.

  2. I look forward to the essay by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I look forward to his long-winded rambling pseudo-philosophical treatise on what it feels like to step down, and how that relates to the ethos of the Open Source movement.

  3. Re:Holy shite! by hoggoth · · Score: 4, Funny

    > I think I shall call my mother and share with her the wonderous news!

    Don't shout. Just walk upstairs from the basement and tell her.

    --
    - For the complete works of Shakespeare: cat /dev/random (may take some time)
  4. looks? by bano · · Score: 3, Funny

    Does this nelson guy look as retarded as ESR does?

    1. Re:looks? by Russ+Nelson · · Score: 5, Funny

      Yeah, I do.
      -russ

      --
      Don't piss off The Angry Economist
    2. Re:looks? by Russ+Nelson · · Score: 3, Funny

      And he looks like a librarian.

      Thank you, Jason, I take that as a sincere compliment. Librarians are some of the fiercest defenders of the right to read.
      -russ

      --
      Don't piss off The Angry Economist
  5. Re:[tt] You could see this one coming by lucabrasi999 · · Score: 4, Funny
    . See, for instance, what Stalin did with the veterans of the Russian Revolution, or how Fidel Castro got rid of Che. Every revolution has ended up eating its children; i can't see why the Open Source Revolution should be different.

    You know, a psychologist would probably be able to interpret many interesting things from your post.

  6. Re: [tt] Nice misinformation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny
    That used to be true, but since the Open Source and Copyleft Act 2004, the OSI has been granted quasi-governmental status over Open Source licensing. Essentially, it's now illegal to create a new license that allows for the free distribution of code unless that license passes muster with the OSI.

    The reasons for this are several fold. Part of it is to discourage new incompatable licenses (you can't use APSL code in Apache that can't be used in Perl that can't be used in Linux that can't be used in AROS, to give some examples.)

    Part of it is to make sure that a uniform set of licenses is produced. It's no good having open source, if one group thinks you should email all changes to them, or another thinks they should be able to use your stuff in a proprietary program without permission. The OSI can level the playing field somewhat.

    As you might imagine, ESR was behind the bill, lobbying for it extensively behind the scenes. "Sometimes, it takes a government to push forward progress" he said in a recent paper, "The Cauliflower and the Mattress". "We expect governments to do a job, and that's to provide for the common welfare. Open Source is a critical part of our welfare. It is at the heart not merely of the software that runs this country, but of our future. Some might say we would be better off in a world without schools, and healthcare, with only guns to defend ourselves. I say no, that's wrong. Totally backward that is. We don't need guns when we have open source. We don't need to defend ourselves when we have control over the code we run."

    Google for "The Cauliflower and the Mattress" and you should find a copy. Inspiring words.

  7. ready to try to spend his sudden wealth? by chuckfee · · Score: 5, Funny

    Or better yet, to write his reflections on going through life with a complete lack of social skills?

  8. "Surprised By Wealth" by Ars-Fartsica · · Score: 3, Funny

    this still makes me laugh. And I mean laughing at him, not with him.

  9. Re:More info on Russ Nelson by Russ+Nelson · · Score: 4, Funny

    [nelson@desk nelson]$ ping google.com
    PING google.com (216.239.39.99) 56(84) bytes of data.
    64 bytes from 216.239.39.99: icmp_seq=0 ttl=237 time=90.3 ms
    64 bytes from 216.239.39.99: icmp_seq=1 ttl=237 time=103 ms
    64 bytes from 216.239.39.99: icmp_seq=2 ttl=237 time=75.5 ms
    64 bytes from 216.239.39.99: icmp_seq=3 ttl=237 time=129 ms

    --- google.com ping statistics ---
    4 packets transmitted, 4 received, 0% packet loss, time 3000ms
    rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 75.598/99.877/129.919/19.979 ms, pipe 2

    --
    Don't piss off The Angry Economist