Slashdot Mirror
Salon on Bruce Perens
Zippy the Pinhead writes "Salon has responded with Slashdot-like speed to Bruce Perens' announcement with this article.
Also, just below that item is an article entitled "Linux bandwagon starts to groan", about the flood(?) of Linux-port annoucements. "
Since you've read... http://x4.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=445570753
Why It's Time to Talk About Writing Free Software Once Again
I'm someone you've probably never heard of. You may know me as the
primary author of some bits of software someone you might know might
have heard of and which is available from some other people you
probably haven't heard of, and as someone who's thrown in the odd
bugfix on other software here and there, but if you've even used
stuff I've done or fixed you probably used it without giving me a
single thought. Still, I have to establish my credibility somehow.
About a year ago, I watched with disbelief as "Open Source" began to
happen, and then I jumped on the bandwagon as quickly as I could. We
founded the Open Source Initiative as a sound career move that
captured the zeitgeist and surfed the wave of breaking publicity that
resulted from Netscape's sheer desperation for any form of strategy at
all. Well, the world has certainly noticed Eric, and Eric has worked
hard to achieve that for himself, at the obvious personal cost of his
sanity.
So, it's now time for the next stage: now that the world is watching
Eric and we've discovered how ruthlessly egotistically self-promoting
and increasingly odd he really is, it's time for us to explain that
the idea isn't _just_ about Eric, that Eric is not really typical of
us at _all_, and to get some much-needed distance between us and Eric
pronto before he does us any more damage.
We have to find another focal point to counter Eric. We need a
solid and stable personality as a spokesperson, because the media
thrives on personalities, and we needed that personality a week ago to
prepare for Microsoft Refund Day.
We don't have much choice in available people with a critical mass of
media attention. Linus has a real job and is far too sensible to get
involved in this. Alan Cox is a limey with a weird foreign accent most
Americans just can't understand either. We'll have to build on the
personality that we know we've got: Richard Stallman. At least he's
American.
Most hackers giggle when someone says that Free Software and Open
Source are just two words for the same thing, because they can count
and they can see four words. They can count and they can code. They're
logical. Unfortunately, though, Open Source has de-emphasized the
logical importance of writing code and raised expectations that other
people will do that for you and then just give it to you.
It's time for us to fix that. Richard must make it clear to the world
via media attention that this free software is still important, that
software like the increasingly renowned FSF Debian GNU/Linux would not
be around without it, but that there's no such thing as a free lunch
and we need more people that can actually code to write this stuff for
nothing.
Once _everyone_ is writing code for nothing, the no-free-lunch problem
will eventually vanish - but that won't happen until we at least have
people writing free documentation that teaches people how to write
free code. Spread the word! Encourage real computer literacy! Write
now!
One of the unfortunate things about Open Source is that it
overshadowed these important coding efforts with self-promotion
efforts, and the Open Source people are so busy promoting themselves
and taking credit that they've stopped coding. This is a net loss to
the community, and is never fair on the people writing the code -
although some may think Richard is a whacko and disagree with his
belief that _all_ software should be free, you have to ask yourself:
Just how much code have _they_ written and given away recently? How
_dare_ they criticize?
The Open Source Definition is entirely compatible with the Free
Software Foundation's goals because it says it is, and a schism
between the two groups should never have been allowed to develop, even
though marketing considerations and personal self-interest meant that
it was inevitable and everyone could see it coming. I objected to
people doing self-promotion rather than writing code, but was not able
to get the two parties - selfish marketers and selfless coders -
together in common cause, because no-one would agree with me about
anything.
Another unfortunate fact is the certification mark dispute which has
gone on between Software in the Public Interest and the Open Source
Initiative for a whole year. That was entirely our fault, because we
let Eric Raymond take ownership of that mark, and now we just can't
get rid of him and get it back. The Open Source certification mark
has already been abused in ways I find unconscionable and that I will
not abide, and there's absolutely nothing I can do about it. Man, I'm
pissed.
Sadly, as I've always tended towards writing code and giving it away
rather than concentrating on marketing, promoting and branding myself,
I've lost touch with Eric because I'm no longer as important as him,
and he's too busy to answer email that isn't inviting him to speak at
events. He's completely out of control without my good advice. I mean,
did you see that cape-and-added-penguins getup on Refund Day at
Microsoft? He's going gaga with delusions of grandeur.
If we leave Eric a bit longer to shoot himself convincingly in his
public foot, gun nut that he is, and give Richard a decent haircut so
he can't spend entire interviews looking for even more split ends
instead of presenting logical arguments, Richard will be perceived as
more mainstream than and definitely saner than Eric. At that point
we'll have no trouble taking back the free software movement
leadership in the public eye and going on from there to market
_writing_ free code. And free documentation.
Admittedly, doing this marketing will take some time away from writing
code, but I think this is possible, that we can actually get the
write-some-code-for-others bits emphasised, and I'm willing to
sacrifice my important coding time for a worthy cause that might just
also bring me into the public eye.
Remember, it's only writing free code that matters, but making my
career out of marketing the rising star of actually _writing_ free
code is where I can make this important difference. And I'm not going
to be marketing me. I'm going to be marketing Richard; he'll be the
media star, and I'll simply be his manager and agent.
We may have only just discovered that Eric can't market concepts
without his own personal foibles and appalling dress sense messing up
the message and getting in the way, but we've known that about Richard
for years. Richard's not going to surprise us by changing his dogmatic
stance now. He's a known quantity: a touchstone that we always know we
can rely on. He's nuts, but at least he's consistent and predictable
with it.
Well, apart from that Tcl thing. And the don't-call-those-emacs-calls
'win' break-everything thing. But those are merely details that are
only of interest to a couple of programming minorities; far more
people got peeved about how the Hacker's Dictionary turned out, so I
think we still come out ahead with Richard.
I've learned a lot about how and how not to do marketing from the open
source effort, and I believe I'm the man to do this. If Noam Chomsky -
consistent, predictable, obviously nuts - can make a successful career
out of denigrating every existing political system and economy,
there's definitely a bigger place in the public eye for Richard while
he denigrates every existing economic method of software distribution.
After all, more people use software than vote, right? Just count those
Chinese and all their free software! Richard will be bigger than
Chomsky, mark my words.
I'll be working to promote Richard as someone that fits the definition
of Free Software Spokesperson. I'll be managing and taking credit for
his media appearances, much as I ironically failed to manage and take
credit for Eric's. And is currently
being reworked to reflect my new role.
So, my question is: who's going to break this news to Richard?
Thanks,
Me.
(ongoing spats in claiming leadership of the movement can be
just as entertaining as watching Eric Raymond perform:
http://x4.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=435811714
or taking the mickey out of Jon Katz's many mistakes, for that
matter.
L.)
Anyone, and I mean *ANYONE* who thinks that Richard Stallman is a good advocate of "Open Source" is wrong. Just plain wrong.
He's not. He's an advocate of GNU CopyLeft, and fuck all else, really. You're worried about people who seem strange in the public media, and you want to advocate Stallman? The man is practically a rabid dog when it comes to anything even *remotely* commercial, including the occasional rip on the idea of people getting paid to work on open source.
Good grief. Few things could be as bad for the freedom of the movement as RS, who represents the Stalin of open source ideals.
Find someone a bit more open-minded about the diversity *within* Open Source.