From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Sat Jun 23 00:10:56 2012 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [69.147.83.52]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 21A6D106566C for ; Sat, 23 Jun 2012 00:10:56 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from perrin@apotheon.com) Received: from oproxy9.bluehost.com (oproxy9.bluehost.com [IPv6:2605:dc00:100:2::a2]) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with SMTP id D40E28FC15 for ; Sat, 23 Jun 2012 00:10:55 +0000 (UTC) Received: (qmail 23605 invoked by uid 0); 23 Jun 2012 00:10:55 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO box543.bluehost.com) (74.220.219.143) by oproxy9.bluehost.com with SMTP; 23 Jun 2012 00:10:55 -0000 DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; q=dns/txt; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=apotheon.com; s=default; h=In-Reply-To:Content-Transfer-Encoding:Content-Type:MIME-Version:References:Message-ID:Subject:To:From:Date; bh=mfDE1zBiPCO6VgZnDJ8kB4ma9IURaxRwYtlBvQ+k0Zw=; b=UizgOyWj1d0L/aMLsm1pJdsQB2lDGcFfTRgNQ3SGXeAziSRdIFIhSJB1MqeOCpFV2tMmHVNGTono85K/WAstz0IEWe3mrHJDHtPd23Hm7rO/ZJ++cnI1GCmosAs7Z1SK; Received: from [24.8.180.234] (port=63664 helo=localhost) by box543.bluehost.com with esmtpsa (TLSv1:AES128-SHA:128) (Exim 4.76) (envelope-from ) id 1SiDwF-0004TV-29 for freebsd-questions@freebsd.org; Fri, 22 Jun 2012 18:10:55 -0600 Date: Fri, 22 Jun 2012 18:10:54 -0600 From: Chad Perrin To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Message-ID: <20120623001054.GC7876@hemlock.hydra> Mail-Followup-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org References: <402199FE-380B-41B6-866B-7D5D66C457D5@lpthe.jussieu.fr> <20120621015237.GB58187@neutralgood.org> <20120622042703.GB24912@hemlock.hydra> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Disposition: inline Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit In-Reply-To: User-Agent: Mutt/1.5.21 (2010-09-15) X-Identified-User: {2737:box543.bluehost.com:apotheon:apotheon.com} {sentby:smtp auth 24.8.180.234 authed with perrin@apotheon.com} Subject: Re: Why Clang X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: User questions List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Sat, 23 Jun 2012 00:10:56 -0000 On Fri, Jun 22, 2012 at 09:24:57AM -0500, Reid Linnemann wrote: > On Thu, Jun 21, 2012 at 11:27 PM, Chad Perrin wrote: > > I disagree with the assessment by others that FreeBSD is in some way > > effectively a subsidiary of its corporate users, but it does have > > corporate users, as well as non-corporate users.  Just as it must > > reasonably see to the needs of the individuals who use it, so must it > > also reasonably see to the needs of those corporate users, especially > > when some of those corporate users' employees are key developers for the > > base system (to the significant benefit of the rest of us).  Thus, saying > > that a particular set of conditions having an impact on commercial > > sponsors of FreeBSD has "zero bearing on FreeBSD itself" is just . . . > > incorrect. > > And I would like to stress on this point that, when I referred to > corporate sponsorship in an earlier post, I was thinking specifically > about the sponsorship of employing developers that keep the system > moving forward, not necessarily monetary donations. The foundation > does need money, but the software is doomed if no one is gainfully > employed to maintain and enhance it. I think there is an altruistic > fiction that many people subscribe to that free software is merely the > result of the generosity of developers producing code of their own > volition and on their own spare time and "giving it away," and from > that viewpoint the act of considering concerns of a sponsoring entity > amounts to "selling out." The reality is much different and much more > complex, as you well know. Indeed. When I contribute to an open source project, as an individual, much the same factors apply. I do not do it to help someone like Michel Talon, or even Reid Linnemann; I do it to help myself, by improving software I like, or to help people who in turn work to improve software I like. I have selfish goals that are served by my support of well- designed copyfree software, whether that support is financial in nature, a contribution of development effort, or something less direct. -- Chad Perrin [ original content licensed OWL: http://owl.apotheon.org ]