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Date:      Tue, 24 Nov 1998 20:00:39 -0800
From:      "Jordan K. Hubbard" <jkh@zippy.cdrom.com>
To:        undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject:   Re: Future of the `Open Source' trademark 
Message-ID:  <49179.911966439.1@zippy.cdrom.com>

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Content-Type: message/rfc822
Content-Description: Original Message

To: spi@spi-inc.org (Software in the Public Interest)
cc: netbsd-announce@netbsd.org, peter@taronga.com,
    officers@spi-inc.org (Software in the Public Interest),
    esr@snark.thyrsus.com
Subject: Re: Future of the `Open Source' trademark 
In-reply-to: Your message of "Tue, 24 Nov 1998 20:07:59 GMT."
             <13915.4639.169796.889552@chiark.greenend.org.uk> 
Date: Tue, 24 Nov 1998 20:00:39 -0800
Message-ID: <49179.911966439@zippy.cdrom.com>
From: "Jordan K. Hubbard" <jkh@zippy.cdrom.com>

> I hereby respectfully submit the attached statement for publication via
> netbsd-annnounce and comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.announce, if you feel it
> appropriate.
>
> [ .. position statement on ongoing conflict between SPI and OSI groups
>   over ``Open Source'' trademark elided .. ]

I have approved the posting to comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.announce, but
with significant reservations.  I won't comment on these proceedings
in any depth since I believe your posting already coveys a picture of
sufficient grimness that anything negative I might have to say about
it would be merely gratuitous, but I will say that this kind of
in-fighting isn't doing the cause any good.  You know it, I know it,
the readers are going to know it when they see this and the only real
remaining question will be how long the war is going to waged in spite
of such knowledge.

Everyone concerned here, from Eric on down, is in serious need of a
reality-check if they think that the trademark on the term "Open
Source" is worth so much that the work of months needs to be undone
over it.  People in both the Linux and FreeBSD advocacy camps have
invested a lot of time and effort in trying to get the Open Source
community taken seriously by business and the mainstream press and the
last thing they need is for prominent portions of that community to
start hoisting their soiled underwear on flagpoles for all to see and
enjoy, right?

This may not really be my fight, and I'll make no claims to that
effect, but it would nonetheless make me happy to ultimately hear that
everyone involved in the two battling groups of peace marchers quickly
decided that maybe this wasn't the kind of public spectacle that
either group really had in mind and that things needed to just get
settled now... quietly...  I know that all of you are ultimately
on the same side here, you just can't currently work out which group
is the Judean People's Front and which is the People's front of Judea.
Remember what happened to them in that movie.  Work this out, please! :-)

- Jordan

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