Re: Reality check! [was: Re: Debian goes big business?]
On Sat, 23 Jan 1999, thomas lakofski wrote:
>
> I also am disappointed with the attitude of some people towards making
> these things easier to do. Is it some kind of techno-snobbery, maybe?
There is nothing wrong with making things easier. Simplicity
is an important technical value. But there is a huge difference between a
simple setup/system and automating an install to appease the "needs" of someone
who is about to go through the process without knowledge about what is
happening. Is it not better to educate this person a little first? There is
nothing snobbish about teaching what you know and insisting that users be
interested enough to learn something about the system that they are going to
use. The real techno-snobs will teach nothing and insist on installing a system
in which control of the system is impossible for the user. Not because
[s]he is incapable of assimilating the skills, but simply because the
politics of the situation will not allow for training and the transfer of
knowledge.
> Making things easier does not necessitate dumbing-down things for more
> competent users. Once up and running, a Debian system is far more
Perhaps not. But perhaps you should ask yourself the question-
Why is debian like it is today and not like something else?
The answer is deeply rooted in the role the developers have played
in its production AND the role debian has played in the technical lives of the
developers. Production for use is a two way street, and it is short and narrow.
Nothing prevents what you and some others advocate from happening,
except perhaps your own will and ability to facillitate it. But to insist
that the creators of a system change it when they are satisfied with it is
to fundamentally misunderstand what is happening here and why debian is
different than a commercial dist and even why Linux is different than a
commercial OS. The requirments of a commercial market driven distribution
or OS is not the same as the technical system that debian is evolving into.
There is no reason why debian could not be the basis of the system
that you want. The freedom to take it and go in that direction is there.
But you must stop insisting that others do it for you. The developers have
done well and it is BECAUSE they have satisfied their personal requirments
(self-interest), understood co-operation and the "enlightened self interest"
that is the origin of the Linux community.
Perhaps the "answer" for what you are seeking is simple. Find
others who want the dist to look like you do and organize to create somthing
a little different.
Debian as the product of wage labour and consumer driven markets
would simply not be as good for me or the developers. Is that not the
very lesson of Linux/GNU itself?
-steve
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