“It’s no secret that ORBS and MAPS aren’t exactly best friends
but the pressure-cooker rivalry became too much, allegations
started flying and we are now faced with a partisan split. As one
reader stated: “A user’s choice of ORBS or MAPS is as religious as
their choice of OS.”
“Despite a largely positive press response to ORBS, its
supporters seem the more deranged. It is a simple fact of the Net
industry that it is populated with highly loyal but blinkered
individuals. Something is either the best in the world or the
worst.”
“As such, it’s hard to know whether the accusation that Alan
Cox (a pro-ORBS Linux guru whose diary alerted The Reg to the
situation) is making “hysterical claims” is made from an
anti-ORBS, anti-Linux or anti-Cox standpoint. A lot of the
emails are slightly calmer versions of newsgroup crazy rants and
words like “conspiracy”, “grudge” and “fanatic” have cropped up
with alarming regularity.”