Re: Thanks for Debian (was: Re: thanks)
I will definitely second all this praise. I began using Linux
in early 2000 and I chose Debian because it, at the time, was more
security conscious than some of the other distributions. I work in the
Network Operations group of the IT department at Oklahoma State
University so one needs things that are stout and trustworthy if one
hopes to be productive. Thanks for giving us tools that aren't toys.
It is humbling to think that so many people have contributed
so freely of their time and expertise. A spokesman for a large
mass-market software firm once said that closed-source software was
the way to go because "When your rear is on the line, you tend to
really perform." I won't dispute whether or not that is right or not,
but the halls are full of cries of anguish from people who use that
software as directed and still manage to come to grief.
Debian Linux hasn't let me down once when I followed the correct
method of doing things. It's not idiot-proof, but anything truly
useful never really is and it tends to be self-limiting in that true
idiots stay away and do something else. (Let your imagination be your guide.)
Let's hope that Debian, Linux in general and the open source
philosophy continues to survive. My worst nightmare is having no
choice but to use software written by people whose rears were on the
line and who were meeting a deadline so pushed that package out the
door with the occasional stack overflow or the uninitialized memory
that creeps in every so often, etc.
My job is a lot easier because of what the Debian developers
have done and you've really done something when you make somebody's
work day easier and more productive.
As one who likes to get a decent weeks pay for a decent hour's
work, I truly appreciate this.:-)
A thousand thanks to all Linux Developers and to those on this
list who answer our questions when we get stuck. Let's not forget to
do the same when we see somebody else stuck on something we know about.
Martin McCormick WB5AGZ Stillwater, OK
OSU Information Technology Division Network Operations Group
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