From owner-freebsd-hackers Fri Apr 10 07:54:46 1998 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by hub.freebsd.org (8.8.8/8.8.8) id HAA19799 for freebsd-hackers-outgoing; Fri, 10 Apr 1998 07:54:46 -0700 (PDT) (envelope-from owner-freebsd-hackers@FreeBSD.ORG) Received: from whistle.com (s205m131.whistle.com [207.76.205.131]) by hub.freebsd.org (8.8.8/8.8.8) with ESMTP id HAA19783 for ; Fri, 10 Apr 1998 07:54:40 -0700 (PDT) (envelope-from dhw@whistle.com) Received: (from smap@localhost) by whistle.com (8.7.5/8.6.12) id HAA08530 for ; Fri, 10 Apr 1998 07:54:06 -0700 (PDT) Received: from pau-amma.whistle.com(207.76.205.64) by whistle.com via smap (V1.3) id sma008528; Fri Apr 10 07:53:39 1998 Received: (from dhw@localhost) by pau-amma.whistle.com (8.8.7/8.8.7) id HAA02750 for freebsd-hackers@freebsd.org; Fri, 10 Apr 1998 07:53:39 -0700 (PDT) (envelope-from dhw) Date: Fri, 10 Apr 1998 07:53:39 -0700 (PDT) From: David Wolfskill Message-Id: <199804101453.HAA02750@pau-amma.whistle.com> To: freebsd-hackers@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Fw: Your Article "Freeware: The Heart & Soul of the Internet" Sender: owner-freebsd-hackers@FreeBSD.ORG Precedence: bulk X-Loop: FreeBSD.ORG There's been a lot written on this (and more, I'm sure, to come). I'm wondering if it might be of interest or value for folks in the FreeBSD community to step up involvement with USENIX, SAGE, and/or local groups (such as BayLISA). I'm also subscribed to -newbies (I am, after all, rather new to FreeBSD in particular, even though I've been using UNIX since '86; PC hardware is definitely weird & bizarre stuff to me -- so I use FreeBSD at work & Suns at home...). I see a need there for a fair degree of mentoring. Sure, a lot can be done via mailing lists & newsgroups; they are incredibly valuable for spanning both distance and time. However, there is, I believe, still room for the social aspects of in-person gatherings. And I hear plaintive cries (in -newbies) such as "Are there any FreeBSD users in the San Diego area who might want to get together...?" Granted, this isn't a short-term fix to the observed problem(s). However, I'm firmly convinced that long- and short-term approaches do not need to necessarily be in opposition to one another; rather (ideally), they will complement one another. BTW: I really liked the idea of some of us buying copies of Greg's book & the WC CD set, & donating them to (public) libraries. In fact, I may propose that to the BayLISA board (as well as doing it myself for the town where I live).... [I started thinking about the concept of being an extremist in favor of "free software", and the notion of "free software radical" came to mind. [Un]fortunately, I took a bit too much chemistry in school, so that thought really hurts my head.... Maybe it's just as well....] david -- David Wolfskill dhw@whistle.com (650) 577-7158 pager: (650) 401-0168 To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-hackers" in the body of the message