Date: Tue, 03 Aug 1999 00:36:42 -0600 From: Wes Peters <wes@softweyr.com> To: Stephen McKay <syssgm@detir.qld.gov.au> Cc: Mike Hoskins <mike@snafu.adept.org>, Jeroen Ruigrok/Asmodai <asmodai@wxs.nl>, freebsd-advocacy@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Selfstyled arrogance? Message-ID: <37A68DFA.156FDFD3@softweyr.com> References: <Pine.BSF.4.10.9908020316020.2785-100000@snafu.adept.org> <199908030344.NAA15343@nymph.detir.qld.gov.au>
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Stephen McKay wrote:
>
> On Monday, 2nd August 1999, Mike Hoskins wrote:
>
> >On Mon, 2 Aug 1999, Stephen McKay wrote:
> >
> >> It's very much a dispassionate "here are the facts of this situation"
> >> message. The lesson in it for us is that we should concentrate even more
> >> on Linux Binary Compatibility. Even the stupid bits.
> >
> >Call me stupid, but I don't like seeing 'concentrate on' and 'stupid bits'
> >in the same paragraph when referring to the FreeBSD Project...
>
> Yeah, it doesn't fully match my philosophy either. But if you advocate
> FreeBSD (as in you want to see it take over the world), then Linux ABI
> compatibility is a priority requirement. Simple as that. If you are
> not coding new bits for it, you should be testing any Linux binaries you
> can get your hands on.
>
> On the other hand, if you are in it for the intellectual buzz, and don't
> care if FreeBSD becomes an irrelevant historical footnote, then it matters
> not. FreeBSD might displace Linux, or it might fail. Who cares if you are
> having fun?
Or it might do neither, and continue to have a long and fruitful life. Why
is it that so many FreeBSD users define "success" as "replacing XXX" where
XXX is variously Windows NT, Linux, NetBSD, OpenBSD, MacOS, and even VxWorks
for the real freaks in the crowd? Perhaps we have higher goals than any of
these, or more narrowly focused goals, and all of the above can continue to
exist.
FreeBSD worked just fine when we had 100, 1,000, and 1,000,000 users, and
doesn't necessarily need to be the OS of choice for every man, woman, child,
dog, cat, and iguana on the planet in order to thrive. We'll settle for all
of the iguanas, if push comes to shove. ;^)
--
"Where am I, and what am I doing in this handbasket?"
Wes Peters Softweyr LLC
http://softweyr.com/ wes@softweyr.com
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