Re: (seemingly) declinging bug report numbers
On Fri, Oct 19, 2012 at 03:04:45AM +0200, Christoph Anton Mitterer wrote:
> On Wed, 2012-10-17 at 17:43 +0200, Wouter Verhelst wrote:
> > Ah, well, I think you misunderstood me here. What I meant is that ubuntu
> > is gaining ground on things like Windows and MacOS. I didn't mean to
> > refer to non-free software packaged with ubuntu, nor to non-free
> > producers who support ubuntu.
> Ah I see.
>
> Well but ultimately that could mean harm to Debian, too.
No, I disagree with that.
I see many people in my friends and family who try out using some
distribution for one reason or another. Usually, they start with Ubuntu.
Often they stay with Ubuntu for a very long time, but just as often they
do not, and move to Debian or another distribution instead. And this is
not because I'm actively advocating Debian (or advocating against
Ubuntu); in fact, when people ask me for advice about which distribution
to run, I usually reply with "I'm not the right guy to ask, I'm biased".
When people start using Linux for the first time, they often go for what
seems to be the easiest solution. This was true for myself, too: when I
first installed Linux, I used RedHat, since in the sixpack that I bought
at the time, containing RedHat, Debian, and Slackware, only RedHat could
be installed from CD-ROM immediately (at the time, Debian and Slackware
both required that you boot from floppy).
If people start using a Linux distribution at some point or another,
that means they're another Linux user, and that's a good thing. If
they're using Ubuntu, then at some level they're also a Debian user, and
that's also a good thing. If Ubuntu is the right distribution for them,
they will probably remain an Ubuntu user for a long time. If it isn't,
they will migrate to something else; maybe Debian, maybe not.
What's important for Debian is that we continue to attract enough
developers to sustain our distribution's technical level. I think we're
doing that. I do think there are things we can do to improve the inflow
of developers into Debian (as I also said during this year's DPL
campaign), but "competing against Ubuntu" isn't one of them.
(anyway, this is getting more and more off-topic for debian-devel, so
EOT for me here)
--
Copyshops should do vouchers. So that next time some bureaucracy requires you
to mail a form in triplicate, you can mail it just once, add a voucher, and
save on postage.
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