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Bruce Perens Voted off SPI Board
An anonymous reader writes "ComputerWorld is reporting that open source evangelist Bruce Perens has been ousted from the board of Software in the Public Interest. Even though he founded the organization he said it was time to move on, stating that he probably shouldn't have run but just couldn't let it go. It seems that for the time being Perens in content to focus on the truly important things, like watching his son grow and making time for his family. I just hope that he isn't gone for too long."
It sounds like he was forcefully ejected from his own board, but the story leads me to believe that this is what he wanted- even the slashdot summary states that he had said it was "time to go" and that he wanted more time with his family and son... so why was he 'ousted'? Or perhaps I'm simply reading something wrong...
Here's a link with election info. Here are the election results.
But for me the real question is whether it is time for a magnetic floating bed?
>> Perens disagreed with the direction HP was taking on its Linux platform when it merged with Compaq.
A company that fires you when you disagree with them is most emphatically a company that you no longer want to work for.
Bruce has principles and doesn't toe the company line when it seems wrong. In my book, that's a good thing.
"The question of whether machines can think is no more interesting than [] whether submarines can swim" - Dijkstra
Perens IS content.
See also the previous story: "[...] defining what a mashup really it" = really IS.
Two "is" errors in two consecutive summaries. What's going on here? Are they trying to subliminally tell me that mashups are the new "it" thing? Or that Perens is incontinent? Does it depend on what my definition of "is" is?
Beware spellcheckers, they lead to a false sense of correctness.
Don't put advice in your sig.
Could someone give a short description of SPI? How is it different from other similar organisations? What does it do that these organisations don't?
Ever hear me on the air? Not much time for ham radio right now, either. I made it to Dayton and turned down a position on the TAPR board. So much to do, so little Bruce. Sigh.
Bruce Perens.
Hm. Perhaps I should be deported or something :-) Maybe tried for treason. I'll think of something :-)
It's somewhat frustrating that internal conflict of Open Source always makes more news than the outward-facing work that I'm doing. There have been much more important issues that I was unable to get Slashdot to cover.
Bruce
Bruce Perens.
How am I supposed to hear rampant rumor and speculation when the subject of the story is posting the truth? This is Slashdot after all; there is a tradition to uphold here people.
I for one welcome our... ahh never mind that won't work here.
DK
I guess it's a human-interest story.
I have this self-imposed job of helping to ease the future course of Open Source by attempting to solve problems in its way like the software patent issue. A big part of that is being an "opinion leader", which is writing stuff that other people read and, hopefully, agree with. Getting attention for such stuff means courting the press like Computerworld (which did not create the cited article but is carrying a LinuxWorld Online story) and Slashdot. The press is capricious. They don't cover what I want them to cover. They must be pandered to and babied, cajoled, you get the picture. Being a notable person whom they will recognize and cover - regardless of the content - is something you have to do just to get the real issues covered. That doesn't mean we have to like it.
Thanks
Bruce
Bruce Perens.
I'm sorry but the code is more important than watching some bag of meat grow up.
Okay, this is obvisouly the worst kind of karma whoring possible. How about we take Bruce's highest moderated replies and we all post our own questions?
So, whaddya saying, no ACs and if I want to read about Joss Whedon's grocery list I'll have to call his press agent?
I am *SO* there, Bruce! Congratulations!
(But do you kinda sorta think that your new competitive venture against slashdot is why your own dirty laundry got posted here by an AC? I'm just askin'...)
Rich.
libguestfs - tools for accessing and modifying virtual machine disk images
I don't know. Technocrat.net is still very small potatoes next to Slashdot. Makes about $10 a day on google ads, which I pay to Zogger, the only paid editor. I doubt the Slashdot operators would mind a bit. But I do find that stuff I submit is less likely to run than links to stuff I submitted to other sites which are then submitted to Slashdot by third parties. You would think that Slashdot would like to get the news from the horses's mouth rather than some other part of the horse :-) One of the editors explained to me once that they do defensive postings, which means that they get so many people submitting the same article that they post it just to get them to shut up, but they really did not want to run that story at all. Maybe that's what happened this time. Interesting the effect that the internet has on editorial policy.
Bruce
Bruce Perens.
Good luck to you.
You're an inspiration to many.
By the way, I have a buddy who was up until very recently working in Montreal for a fairly big hardware/software firm. His wife got offered a job with Cisco in the US (South Carolina) and they (plus their two children) decided to move.
This meant (for him) abandonning his well-paying, well-established job.
I asked him what he planned to do for a job down in Raleigh, he answered "Take care of the kids"
"What?"
"Yup, that's it, that's all. I've been too busy with a million activities" he went on "I want to take care of my kids"
I thought about for a second, smiled and said "Those kids will be luckier than most"
I don't know the meaning of the word 'don't' - J
Bruce is correct - remember Steve Wozniak phone?
In the early 1980's Steve Wozniak still had a published phone #. (actually 2 published #s I believe, one was a polish-joke-of-the-week answering machine, the other was in his den)
But you could still call the two lines. Steve Wozniak did not mind callers, and had a lot more fans and interested parties in 1983 than Bruce typically has.
I think Bruce is a stand up guy and to be RESPECTED.
yeah so what's your point, when your out there doing things, there is a tendency to offend people who are out there talking about doing things. If the organisation was founded to push an agenda and the agenda get taken over by a bunch of mamby-pamby soccer-mom types who just want everyone to get along; sometimes the passion gets lost. Linus pisses people off, RMS pisses people off a lot of people pisses people off, I'd rather be around people that piss me off, they're usualy the honest ones.
Parent posts under his name, Parens posts his Email address, Parens post his freaken cellphone number, you post Anonymous Coward.
Apocalypse Cancelled, Sorry, No Ticket Refunds
Just answering the /. questions/comments as they're posted beats the heck out of one of those interviews where /. picks the top-rated posts and you get this long carefully-planned monologue-type response two weeks later.
Good luck with the software patents thing. You obviously understand how important it is, and many of us here do too. Thanks for spending your time on it.
Why are you letting these clowns ruin our country?
Some of my best friends are people I disagree with on many issues because they are passionate about things and give a damn. They usually want the same things I do, we just see how to get there differently. I can always get along with someone like that even if occasionally they piss me off.