LinuxPlanet: .comment: Other Agendas

Nov 28, 2001, 13:05 (21 Talkback[s])
(Other stories by Dennis E. Powell)

"There's no doubt that there's a tremendous political component to the software industry today, which is especially evident in free and open source software development. Whether this is good or bad is immaterial -- it exists, and we must endure it.

But there is a point, easily reached, where this becomes not just counter-productive but sufficiently shrill that it makes it difficult for the movement(s) to be taken seriously -- it simply provides ammunition for those who do not wish us well.

A couple of recent events involving stars of the community underline this. They are Richard M. Stallman's candidacy for membership on the board of the Gnome Foundation, and Eric S. Raymond's advocacy of Second Amendment rights.

The issue is not the validity of their positions but instead the appropriateness of the milieu in which they are raised."

Complete Story

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