Re: Suggestion: Skip Slink!
>
> I'm advising my friends who are just trying Linux to wait for
> slink. I do this because: (a) 2.0 is so old, (b) Debian
> promised me a stable slink Real Soon Now.
>
>
> Please: just crank out a stable slink. The world needs it!
I'm just a user, but I have to say:
The decision to develop Potato while Slink was still unreleased was a major
mistake. Unless you correct it in a general way (i.e. decide never to start
a new unstable until stable is out the door), it will continue to snowball,
as it's doing now.
I love Debian. It has a consistency no other distribution can touch, and a
philosophy that makes it ideal. It has also embarked on a new (and really
fascinating and important) form of governmental organization which may not
survive these early days. Without the (virtually) absolute power of a Linus
Torvalds making unilateral decisions and controlling the entire distribution
and release schedule, there is always the danger of lapsing into anarchy and
losing the precious hope that Debian represents: the hope that an organized
open software project can progress strongly, independently of any single
individual.
Now it's true that if Linus quit linux, kernel development would continue.
But it would continue in a much greater state of anarchy. By adopting the
Constitution, Debian avoids that--maybe. And while nothing is wrong with
anarchy, it is not particularly stable and does lead to fragmentation and
infighting.
People may not be talking about Debian in these terms in the mainstream
press, but I think the eyes of a lot of people are watching to see if Debian
can come up with regular releases in these first tentative months. Since the
adoption of the constitution, there has not been a single stable release. I
don't mean that as a criticism, but I think that, more important than X
3.3.3, more important than linux 2.2.0, is Debian itself. Will it prove
itself capable of creating usable releases, or will it just become a domain
of hackers and be left behind when the world switches to linux?
The scale looks about balanced to me now. Don't know which way it will tip.
Zack
>
>
> Regards,
>
> Zooko
>
> -------
> http://xs4all.nl/~zooko
>
>
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