From owner-freebsd-advocacy@FreeBSD.ORG Thu Dec 27 19:19:10 2007 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-advocacy@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [IPv6:2001:4f8:fff6::34]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 66EC616A41A for ; Thu, 27 Dec 2007 19:19:10 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from avatar4d@gmail.com) Received: from an-out-0708.google.com (an-out-0708.google.com [209.85.132.248]) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 2A82D13C461 for ; Thu, 27 Dec 2007 19:19:10 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from avatar4d@gmail.com) Received: by an-out-0708.google.com with SMTP id c14so623629anc.13 for ; Thu, 27 Dec 2007 11:19:09 -0800 (PST) DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=gamma; h=domainkey-signature:received:received:message-id:date:from:to:subject:in-reply-to:mime-version:content-type:content-transfer-encoding:content-disposition:references; bh=PSNrRMWdc50WYvrb2Jze2MH98y+rvdYEqo+zxhIF6O8=; b=XmS0mfPXOjLc5lbfZZgA3TRAoGld+mDy+f+bG56mhyJtCKQ6FwbJy+sX7hXW4IenwqYUjYLl8sNSxfpB+PVbt3Krm97STq+1algroDMvK/dw1sgZqoGDYQq2e6SF7g9+tyGtdFSZN8Jo46LXVJmzWudJEfySlFwZFDZBwf92+v8= DomainKey-Signature: a=rsa-sha1; c=nofws; d=gmail.com; s=gamma; h=message-id:date:from:to:subject:in-reply-to:mime-version:content-type:content-transfer-encoding:content-disposition:references; b=TXJnzwBKvCBv9quWX32oui4j+Ixbffxd8VGj2bZ6XqqJCeennkkq9WyAJgTeYLYHTx+78JUS0l2vzD+1JII1NghHBYQv6ukpbRa+OEuTiNy7EkWJFIRuYZMLHeWfxpZZUxZY0Q1tdlTKVuexwLsvyIHXtqF84ofGob1a4cR2QV4= Received: by 10.100.242.20 with SMTP id p20mr17177220anh.1.1198781413388; Thu, 27 Dec 2007 10:50:13 -0800 (PST) Received: by 10.100.41.15 with HTTP; Thu, 27 Dec 2007 10:50:13 -0800 (PST) Message-ID: <17489c7a0712271050g1b4c864r5f1f891b205d4fef@mail.gmail.com> Date: Thu, 27 Dec 2007 13:50:13 -0500 From: "Chad Gross" To: freebsd-advocacy@freebsd.org In-Reply-To: <80f4f2b20712270923r2d50eafcif1a8b132a5a575c1@mail.gmail.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline References: <80f4f2b20712270923r2d50eafcif1a8b132a5a575c1@mail.gmail.com> Subject: Re: slashdot interview? X-BeenThere: freebsd-advocacy@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: FreeBSD Evangelism List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Thu, 27 Dec 2007 19:19:10 -0000 On Dec 27, 2007 12:23 PM, Jim Stapleton wrote: > If this has been suggested before, sorry, I didn't find it in my searches. > > Has the idea of one of those "as such-and-such" articles for slashdot > ever been suggested for the FreeBSD core team? Recently they've had > articles asking the readers to come up with questions to ask certain > developers and/or groups. I think this would be a great idea. It is a great opportunity to get the information on version 7.0 out there. The new features of 7.0 should build some excitement around the OS for those not in the know. > > A month or two ago I figured this wouldn't work for FreeBSD given the > usual droll jokes about it being unpopular and dead, but recently > there was an article where a few threads grew a lot of interest for > BSD (several people asking/answering questions on BSD, with not > serious flaming in sight), and I figured maybe something like this > might work to get a little more recognition and understanding for the > OS. Would this be something worth trying? Am I missing something > obvious that everyone else has seen? > I am a Slashdot-aholic and there are definitely a lot of folks on there that make references of "BSD is dead," et al, but it is really the perfect place to do something like you are suggesting. There are a lot of younger people on there which may account for those know-it-all comments. It reminds me of an old joke: "All the knowledge that can ever be obtained happens between the ages of 4 and 18. Scientists have determined this because at the age of 4, you have all the questions. At the age of 18, you have all the answers." As a former person in sales/marketing, I think that the "get them while they are young" motto has its merits. We need to inform the people, but especially so in that demographic. The reason most of them run Linux (I believe) is because they hate Windows/Microsoft and want an alternative. If they truly understood the way FreeBSD is designed and is administered/used, I think we will be able to convert quite a few Linux users to BSD. The younger the people are that we provide this information to, the better the project will grow. As a user since version 4.0, it is my personal belief that the design of the system is much superior to that of Linux and I am sure that others will follow in that belief given the information. The central development of the OS is obviously another reason it performs as well as it does. If we compare the Linux Kernel + GNU userland vs the FreeBSD way, the pros are clearly on the side of BSD. Plus, once the userbase begins to grow more rapidly we will have more leverage in obtaining driver support as well as native binary support (read: Adobe Flash). I do my part to advocate BSD (I run Free and Open) on Slashdot, but we need front page articles that discuss the way the OS is designed and the reason why it makes more sense to do it that way. Additionally, this can lead into how those design choices ease the administrative tasks of the system. We can't forget to talk about the Handbook either. The documentation is one of the major reasons it is the clear winner over other operating systems. > Thanks, > -Jim Stapleton > _______________________________________________ > freebsd-advocacy@freebsd.org mailing list > http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-advocacy > To unsubscribe, send any mail to "freebsd-advocacy-unsubscribe@freebsd.org" > Let me know if there is anything else I can do. Regards, -- Chad M. Gross