[LI] 'The Community Future,' a panel report from The Bazaar

[Sudhir Gandotra <sudhir@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

'The Community Future,' a panel report from
   The Bazaar
   Dec 15, 1999, 08:23 UTC (2 Talkbacks) (Other stories by Emmett
   Plant) 

   By Emmett Plant 
   Editor, Linux Today 

   Add two tablespoons of Rob Malda to one cup of Bruce Perens and
   stir gently while adding half a cup of Jeff Bates. Then take your
   mixture, throw in a dash of Jon Hall and a light dusting of Ken Coar.
   Mix this all together in a large bowl with two cups of Chris DiBona
   and three pounds of Richard Stallman. Put it in the oven and bake it
   for about an hour, and you've got the recipe for 'The Community
   Future,' a panel discussion at The Bazaar this afternoon. 

   While the attendance at The Bazaar was not huge today, the panel
   drew a crowd of at least two-hundred community enthusiasts waiting
   to hear the latest from their heroes. Fortunately, Jon 'maddog' Hall
   was moderating the panel, so things were able to function smoothly
   regardless of the personalities involved, and there was a definite
sense
   of community spirit in the room. 

   The Linux community is interesting in that serious topics can be
   discussed with a sense of humor. As Eric Raymond pointed out later
   in the evening, "One of the funniest things about the
   commercialization of Linux is that the suits believe that they're
   co-opting us."When an interesting point was raised from the
   audience, Rob, Chris and Jeff held up sheets of paper, 'judging' the
   question or point raised like Olympic judges. 

   One of these interesting points was the all-inclusive nature of the
   'Free Software' definition, especially including the BSD folks, who
   have big fans in the Linux community, even though they're working
   with a different operating system. One of the major differences
   between the Open and Proprietary worlds is that the Free Software
   world welcomes choices and options instead of shunning them. A big
   point made is that Linux welcomes their BSD brethren with open
   arms, because we believe single solution is boring. 

   Another interesting point of focus was brought up by Jon Hall. Early
   in the panel, Jon looked toward the audience and said, "How many
   people in the audience are currently running Linux at home?" Nearly
   all the hands in the crowd shot up. "How many people in the audience
   plan on installing Linux when they get home?" A small number of
   hands raised. "How many people use Free Software on a proprietary
   operating system?" About fifteen hands raised. "That's interesting,"
   Jon said, "And that's another thing we need to consider. Free
   Software is available on proprietary operating systems, and we can't
   forget these people, either." 

   Richard Stallman is one of the few people who can take his allotted
   three minutes of introduction time, spread it out to ten minutes, and
   captivate an audience at the same time. While Richard can be a bit of
   a maniac at times, this panel proved once again why Linux and the
   Open Source community needs Richard Stallman. Richard holds true
   to his beliefs at all times, and will never, ever deviate. Other
panelists
   will back down in the interest of saving time, and even capitulate to
   Richard's naming conventions and definitions in his presence. While
   many will never refer to Linux as GNU/Linux, Richard will never
   change. While the GNU Project people don't believe that they're
   going to change the name of the popular operating system, they
   entirely believe in giving credit where credit is due. 

   The panel occasionally broke out into riotous laughter. At one point,
   Bruce Perens took the floor and said, "Software is like sex. It's a
really
   great thing, but it's best enjoyed when shared with others." It's
this
   sense of humor that makes the Linux and Open Source community
   different than anything else out there, and as a journalist, I hope
we
   never, ever lose it, no matter how many 'suits' enter the scene.
   Needless to say, the panel ended with strong applause, and most of
the
   crowd left in search of food or beer, though not necessarily in that
   order. 

   More coverage of The Bazaar. 
-- 
Peace, Force & Joy!
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Sudhir Gandotra "mailto:sudhir@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx"; ICQ-16733832
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