Re: Bigotry ?? [was --> Re: What is Linux ?]

[Arun Sharma <adsharma@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Tue, May 30, 2000 at 02:50:14AM +0530, Indranil Das Gupta wrote:

Indranil,

> 
> No, that would be like taking my comment out of the context as I had
> tried to put it.... what was meant was that while my personal work is
> usually quite well served by Linux and associated non-GPLed s/w and
> despite my belief in the valid requirement for GPL, I neither act as a
> fanatic or have I become a bigot in the sense that GPL should be the
> only way to go for __everyone__ concerned, as you seemed to suggest
> will be the outcome of focussing too much on the "community" aspect of
> Linux...

All you're saying is, it's not me, it's my hand which is doing it. GPL
is the tool, which has some special (viral) properties. By advocating
it, you are responsible for the outcome. "Community" is not the cause,
it's a tool to ensure the survival of GPL'ed software.

> In recent months you have often repeated that you felt more comfortable
> with FreeBSD. IIRC, none of the people on LI who feel strongly about
> GPL and the OpenSource movement have ever raised any objection/question
> about the suitability of your choice as all these people are inherently
> pro-choice. Our differences have been w.r.t. interpretation of GPL, its
> application and effects.... we have not condemned your choice (not that
> you have condemned ours, there never has been any occasion)

Fair statements so far. I might have crossed the line on GPL a couple
of times - but that was not the intention.

> and yet you say that by insisting on belonging to a community we --
> the users, become bigots????

Putting the "community" above all else is the origin of software
bigotry. I'm not saying that it exists, but it could happen.

I don't have a problem with the word community, as long as it is used
in a neutral sense, as a group of people. I'm not questioning the
sincerity of the people who go to the local LUG and exchange CDs and
talk about linux or their latest download. I'm not saying that you
should charge money when you help your local school to install free
software.

All I'm asking for is to recognize that philanthropy and business are
both necessary for us and there is no need to artificially mix the
two or /exclude/ one class of people from the group. Specifically, the
group I'm talking about is closed source programmers. I'm saying that
we can all live together peacefully. You are, by adopting GPL, saying
that we can not.

	-Arun