Re: Has Debian abandoned Python?
Steve Langasek, 2009-12-03 06:17:05 -0800 :
[...]
> Conflict of interest? Oh, disregard the previous comments, then;
> apparently this /is/ just a thinly-veiled slander.
Not necessarily. I'm not sure about the state of law worldwide, but
French law has at least two criteria for slander (which we call
« diffamation » here): falsehood and malicious intent. The reality of
the conflict of interest is the very point being scrutinised here, and I
think you'll agree there isn't a wide consensus on the lack of such a
conflict. And since we are putting aside Ubuntu and mainly concerned
about Debian, I claim one can, in good faith, consider the facts as a
plausible indication of the existence of this conflict. Call me a
slanderer if you like, but I'd rather you provided the salient facts
needed to dissipate the misunderstanding (or make the bad faith more
evident).
> The question of whether someone is doing an adequate job of
> maintaining a package is a legitimate one. The identity of their
> employer is immaterial to an objective examination of this question.
Let me disagree on that. It wouldn't mean much if the employer were
unrelated, but in this case the identity of said employer *has* some
bearing. Because it tells us that: Matthias has the technical abilities
to do the job he's volunteered to do; he's presumably doing a good job
in Ubuntu, unless Canonical is very lenient with its employees; and his
employer has stated that Canonical employees are encouraged to do the
right thing in relation to Debian. These points cannot be swept under
the carpet with handwaving or accusations of slander alone.
The timing of #559206 is probably just an unfortunate coincidence, but
I find it telling nevertheless.
Roland.
--
Roland Mas
Time is a drug. Too much of it kills you.
-- in Small Gods (Terry Pratchett)
Reply to: