Re: Formal Member Registration

[Atul Chitnis <achitnis@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Mon, 29 May 2000, Raju Mathur wrote:

<aside>

> Unfortunately the hippies managed to dope themselves out of existence,

We did not!!!!

> which this particular movement seems to be growing all the time.

We do not!!!! 

(we buy it at the local cop station - just as you guys do in Delhi! ;-)

</aside>

> I can agree with your dropping out of the community, but that doesn't
> give you the right to claim that there is no community at all.  It
> exists, it's strong and it's growing.

Zigackly. 

As a general ramble - I just came back from Germany, and while I was there
on holiday, I did manage to catch up with some of the local business
folks. 

My being Indian (and naturally there to rob them all of their jobs, take
the food out of the mouth of their children and slit the throat of the
Aryan IT empire [ref: "Kinder statt Inder"]), I was naturally eyed with
suspicion and deep distrust. 

So I made sure that I wore my Linux India T-Shirt the next time. That
drastically changed the scene, including getting me dinner invites, "hail
fellow well met" and lots and lots of conversation. Suddenly, I was one of
them. So much for the "no community" business.

Another hilarious one was recently during a shoot for a TV channel, where
one of the gentlemen mentioned "so you are one of those Linux freaks".
Moments later, some of his Linux-loving staff was arguing my case for
me....

Communities are formed by like-minded people - people who share something
in common (religion, ideas, beliefs, likes/dislikes, etc.). 

However much the west may try to squish this "unhealthy" bonding - in
India, we operate together, rather than follow the relation-shunning
isolationist approach so often seen in Europe and the USA.

Atul