Date: Tue, 26 May 1998 12:13:04 +0200 From: Martin Cracauer <cracauer@cons.org> To: Ted Stein <ted@taki.net>, advocacy@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Braindead FreeBSD advocates (Re: Advocacy Shortcomings) Message-ID: <19980526121304.51425@cons.org> In-Reply-To: <19980525132304.34592@cheddar.netmonger.net>; from Ted Stein on Mon, May 25, 1998 at 01:23:04PM -0400 References: <19980525132304.34592@cheddar.netmonger.net>
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In <19980525132304.34592@cheddar.netmonger.net>, Ted Stein wrote: > It hurts me deeply to read through the 110 comments on Slashdot > regarding FreeBSD Newsletter #2. A full-scale flamewar has > developed, and at this point I am ashamed to read any further. Not > to mention any names, although those who deserve mention also > deserve a swift kick in the ass, some of us have kept our > community's good name. As for the rest, who knows. I just read some of it and share your opinion. As the author of one the the articles in the newsletter I have to say I am seriously unhappy that some FreeBSD advocactes ruined a large part of the potential benefit I had in mind when investing the time to write it. That the newsletter has been mentioned at all on slashdot.org was a happy surpise for me, I doubt it will happen again :-( We badly need to stop these FreeBSD "advocates" who damage our reputation. They damage our picture in the mind of a lot of serious Linux users, as similar Linux advocates do in different forums for the minds of potential Non-Windows users. In a way it is comparable to what I experience when I come to a new customer and mention "I work with and on free software, but I don't like Linux' attitude and swear on FreeBSD". Those technically-touched managers of WWW startup companies immedeatly jump on, more than one would expect given all the hype on Linux. These folks are *tired* of brainless advocacy. Now people tend to say the FreeBSD fights in forums like slashdot.org usually don't reach potential corporate users and pissing of Linux user's can't hurt since they are not likely to use FreeBSD anyway. But let's not forget that a lot of serious FreeBSD people are Linux converts. I think it's critical for FreeBSD's survival that we look serious from a Linux user's standpoint and that they will consider contributing to FreeBSD when they get tired of Linux somehow. The same applies to all the Linux-oriented yournalists who will follow disussions such as the one at slashdot.org closely. Is anyone a personaly friend or at least in a face-to-face position to the folks at hand? Or even better, do you copy yourself? We all want to push FreeBSD, but let's not get in each other's way. Start talking to us about proper advocacy and let us all give up some of our extreme standpoints to focus on our common goal! The discussion on slashdot.org has been an excellent opportunity to look great by adding useful comments, admitting mistakes, explaining FreeBSD design decisions. Has been. Martin -- %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% Martin Cracauer <cracauer@cons.org> http://www.cons.org/cracauer BSD User Group Hamburg, Germany http://www.bsdhh.org/ To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-advocacy" in the body of the message
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