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Date:      Sat, 25 Apr 1998 11:37:01 -0700
From:      Don Wilde <dwilde1@ibm.net>
To:        Jeremy Lea <reg@shale.csir.co.za>
Cc:        freebsd-advocacy@FreeBSD.ORG
Subject:   Re: Andreessen: Linux use growing
Message-ID:  <35422D4D.166C9BC2@ibm.net>
References:  <35412238.41C67EA6@asme.org> <199804242344.JAA08131@cimlogic.com.au> <19980425185920.A8244@shale.csir.co.za>

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Jeremy Lea wrote:

> I would really like to see them 'encouraged' into a FreeBSD model. I think
> that the importance of mozilla.org lies in publicity, not in it becoming a

YES!

> 'killer app'. The project has a very high media status, and will attract
> more companies to look into open source software. If they develop a
> fanatical Linux type structure then it will make people weary, and if they
> just try to emulate M$, then people would rather go straight to Bill. But if
> they see a level headed, mature organisation, with committed people and a
> bossiness like manner (which I believe FreeBSD has most of the time ;), then

bossy-ness? I know there've been heavyhanded squelches, but I hope you
mean 'business'... :)

> My wish is that FreeBSD would leverage (now there's a nice marketing word :)
> their existing worldwide mirrors to make an 'instant' worldwide mozilla.org
> (ie cvsup.za.mozilla.org, etc), by making pointers in mozilla.org's DNS to
> freebsd.org's and getting the FreeBSD mirror sites to mirror Mozilla (via
> CVS and FTP tarballs of the source and binaries). We could do this quickly
> and it wouldn't consume much resources (not as much as say the distfiles or
> packages). We could also help them set up GNATS, www mirrors, cvsweb
> interfaces, and other infrastructure to help them. FreeBSD's mirror
> infrastructure is something that none of the Linux distributions can offer,
> although we must not stop them from using other mirror sites and especially
> from weaning themselves off our infrastructure.

EXCELLENT!
 
> As for advocacy, I've found in my short life that the best way to make
> friends is to give without asking in return. If they want to thank us for
> the help then that is up to them, but if they don't then we don't help them
> so much. I think the current netscape people within mozilla.org are clever
> enough to know that. If we go with "you can have my toy, but only if you
> promise to be my friend" blackmail, then it will put them off. We could ask
> them after doing it, and it is working, if they wouldn't mind making a joint
> press release. We could also ask for a FreeBSD developer(s) to be given
> access to their CVS tree to be responsible for the FreeBSD version of
> Mozilla. And in the future when we politely ask Netscape why the FreeBSD
> version of Communicator is not officially supported we'd get a much
> friendlier response.

This seems like the best way to _leverage_ every aspect of FreeBSD for
instant advantage, and your comments about giving and doing first
without expectation are very cogent to all -advocacy discussions here,
mine included.

Thank you for your level-headed ideas!

--> Don



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