Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2001 14:50:19 -0500 (EST) From: Robert Watson <rwatson@freebsd.org> To: The Hermit Hacker <scrappy@hub.org> Cc: freebsd-chat@freebsd.org, freebsd-core@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Open Source Development Laboratory ... Message-ID: <Pine.NEB.3.96L.1010125124307.64146B-100000@fledge.watson.org> In-Reply-To: <Pine.NEB.3.96L.1010125084230.62353A-100000@fledge.watson.org>
next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
Err. That was supposed to be a response, not an empty message. :-) I was also interested in this, but a rapid perusal of the web site for Open Source Development Labs seemed to indicate a largely Linux thrust. If you look at the mission statement and the list of sponsors, this is fairly clear. On the other hand, their mission statement does target the entire application stack above Linux, so we may benefit from application work. Jordan has previously made some inroads on the Linux standard base, and it's possible we could have some impact in the work targetted by the labs. Right now, the focus appears to have been on Linux kernel features. I see there being at least a few ways we could impact their decision making and funding process, and it's worth discussing these before following through: 1) We can try to become active members of the open source development labs, and remind them that Linux is not the be all and end all of open source operating systems. The *BSD systems exist, Darwin, as well as GNU's hurd project. They have online membership and comment forums, and participating in those would be useful. Also, they have a Linux community liaison, Tim O'Reilly, who might be open to working with a broader definition of "Open Source", possibly championing the cause, although possibly not. It's clear there's a financial motivation for the supporting companies to target Linux, however, so that brings us to point 2. 2) We can try to identify sponsors on their current list willing to push for a greater FreeBSD focus (IBM, for example, by virtue of Whistle), or we can identify companies we would like to have join the Open Source Development Labs. Possible targets here might include Apple and BSDi, who might benefit from library and application work, and improve the focus from our perspective. 3) Another strong source of impact on OSDL will be the participants in work funded by the labs. We can try to remove involved and engaged in the project work and make sure that reports of success in the funded project space make sure the funding benefits all open source systems, not just Linux. That is, that library and application projects indicate that their funding should not be restricted to developing to the Linux platform, or place bias against other operating system support. Reports back to OSDL could include information on portability issues, cross-platform issues, and not just Linux. There are probably other things we could be doing here, and I'd welcome discussion. Usually, it's better when campaigning for change, to try and debate through the options ourselves, decide on a course of action, and then work in a concerted way. Working as individuals and in an un-coordinated way results in a less pleasant impact, especially when it involves flames. Witness the recent decision by tucows to drop BSD as a support platform as a result of the apparently fractious response they received as a result of an uncoordinated campaign. Flaming people does no good, and an organized campaign is a good idea. Robert N M Watson FreeBSD Core Team, TrustedBSD Project robert@fledge.watson.org NAI Labs, Safeport Network Services On Thu, 25 Jan 2001, Robert Watson wrote: > > On Thu, 25 Jan 2001, The Hermit Hacker wrote: > > > Is this something that FreeBSD/BSDi are/is looking at becoming a member > > of, or is this something that is purely a Linux thing? > > > > http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/TWB20010123S0019 > > Marc G. Fournier ICQ#7615664 IRC Nick: Scrappy > > Systems Administrator @ hub.org > > primary: scrappy@hub.org secondary: scrappy@{freebsd|postgresql}.org > > > > > > To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-chat" in the body of the message
Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?Pine.NEB.3.96L.1010125124307.64146B-100000>