[PROPOSAL] Open Source certification

[Anthony Towns]

On Sun, Apr 11, 1999 at 04:36:56AM -0000, Russell Nelson wrote:
> Anthony Towns writes:
>  > The whole point of having an open organisation is that anyone can
>  > help. You only get to use the `So do it yourself' excuse if we *can*
>  > do it ourselves, and the only way we can do that -- the only way we'd
>  > *want* to do that -- is if you're an open organisation.
> Who was ever stopping you from contributing?

*sigh* The perils of trimming quotes. Go back and read the thread about
what this was in response to.

We can't help you fix your mistakes if you don't tell us what they are.
We can't help negotiate with Apple if we don't know what the problems with
the license are, or why they're there.

>  > >  > Admitting your mistakes, your bugs, your design flaws, whatever is a key
>  > >  > element of free software development.
>  > > You are absolutely right.  That is how hackers do things.  It's
>  > > completely lacking in a business environment.  If we were to be seen
>  > > as hackers, we would get the same regard that hackers have always
>  > > gotten: zero.
>  > The idea here is to get suits to join the hacker culture, at least to some
>  > extend. Giving up on important bits of it just because they might frown
>  > a little at you isn't the way to go.
> And who is doing that?  Not us.

So, ummm, admitting your mistakes and openly discussing problems isn't an
important part of the hacker culture?

Or you're not giving up on it, and you are going to start actually
doing it?

>  > > The way free software people respond to feature requests is "send code."
>  > So may we? Can I take this as a real offer, and forward it to the folks at
>  > debian-legal so we can do this?
> Who was ever stopping you?

I'd sent mails to Eric before, and just stopped getting responses when
I actually offered to help with either of these things. Half the time
it seems the only reason OSI board members bother to respond to these
things is when they're in a bad mood, and I guess I was just being too
polite and reasonable then.

And it's more effort than I could have been bothered with to find the
addresses of the other board members to get shrugged off by them too.

It's a bit hard to contribute when the only obvious way you can
contribute is to mail Eric and get ignored. That's one reason I want the
board's address to be obvious.

And I repeat: can I take this as a real offer? If the stuff does get
written, will OSI have the time to put it up. Or will you just chide us
off saying, yeah, we'll get around to it, but we just don't have time
right now to make too many changes to the website?

It's a serious question, and I again apologise, but I'm not willing to
take the answer I'd like, "yes", on faith.

Cheers,
aj

-- 
Anthony Towns <aj at humbug.org.au> <http://azure.humbug.org.au/~aj/>
I don't speak for anyone save myself. PGP encrypted mail preferred.

``Like the ski resort of girls looking for husbands and husbands looking
  for girls, the situation is not as symmetrical as it might seem.''
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