Skip site navigation (1)Skip section navigation (2)
Date:      Sat, 27 Mar 1999 03:28:15 -0500 (EST)
From:      "John S. Dyson" <dyson@iquest.net>
To:        sprice@hiwaay.net (Steve Price)
Cc:        advocacy@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: Swan song
Message-ID:  <199903270828.DAA02204@y.dyson.net>
In-Reply-To: <Pine.OSF.4.02.9903262036360.22203-100000@fly.HiWAAY.net> from Steve Price at "Mar 26, 99 09:08:37 pm"

next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
Steve Price said:
>
> Don't stand in judgement of another, lest you also stand and
> be judged yourself.
>
I agree -- and it is JKH who personalizes the issue.  The marketing
was silly and klutzy.  It has nothing to do with the idea that it
was he was trying to do it.  Note the personal and named attack
recently started from him.

Note the change of subject from "marketing" to "technical presentation",
where "technical presentation" was never the marketing weak spot.  "You
too" arguments don't solve problems.  The key is for FreeBSD to review
what is necessary for success, and solve the problems that might
continue to hurt.  (Note the private comments that I have been getting
when bringing these issues up, and the other "interesting" private
comments when I quit.)  The project has lost very very interesting
customers, users, and developers due to project leadership reasons.
The politicing has been about as effective as a confused virgin on
his/her first "date."

> 
> Hurt feelings, spent relationships, or whatever you choose to
> call what has prompted the last couple of messages DO NOT belong
> on this list.
>
I agree, but the wasted effort of the FreeBSD project does belong
in the public arena.  Incompetent project mgmt that shows a disrespect
for the work of others does also.

1)	It is time for FreeBSD to graduate from cowboy mode in marketing.
2)	It is time for FreeBSD to graduate from cowboy mode in development.

Item 1 is being solved, and item 2 causes the project to continue to
be at risk.  Every position that I have taken shows an interest in
FreeBSD continuing -- however arrogance and the mistakes associated
with incompetence seems to have held the project back in many ways.

Learn from previous mistakes!!!  It has been over 2-3 yrs that the mess
ups have been easily identified.  The marketing has been limited to
"OSDI" and other silly (from a marketing standpoint) ventures?  Of course
that is only the smallest and insignificant part of the marketing.  It is
only happenstance that certain people have adopted the use of FreeBSD,
and the normal growth associated with successful deployment has been
continually mishandled from a marketing perspective.

Luckily there have been "technical" presentations, but marketing isn't
"that."  Geesh, I was NOT about to give away the strategies in the VM
code, and still won't give away any tools.  It is still entertaining
to see the competition fumble with tweak-city VM code.  (I watch the
other kernel mailing lists also, and they just don't "get it.")  Does
JKH want me to give away any of the technical advantage for FreeBSD?
That is what he implies by me giving papers on the FreeBSD codebase,
and continues to show that he doesn't "get it."

If success wasn't handed to FreeBSD, and then fumbled, then my case
would be a *little* weaker.

-- 
John                  | Never try to teach a pig to sing,
dyson@iquest.net      | it makes one look stupid
jdyson@nc.com         | and it irritates the pig.


To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org
with "unsubscribe freebsd-advocacy" in the body of the message




Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?199903270828.DAA02204>