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From: Mirian Crzig Lennox <mirian@xensei.com>
To: Mason Loring Bliss <mason@acheron.middleboro.ma.us>
Cc: netbsd-advocacy@NetBSD.ORG
Subject: Re: Sun jumping on Linux bandwagon
References: <199812121158.DAA11187@cue.bc.ca> <m3lnk9p6fg.fsf@trantor.cosmic.com> <19981216084649.H10788@acheron.middleboro.ma.us>
Original-Sender: mirian@xensei.com
Organization: The Cosmic Computing Corporation of Alpha Centauri
Date: 16 Dec 1998 13:22:59 -0500
In-Reply-To: Mason Loring Bliss's message of "Wed, 16 Dec 1998 08:46:49 -0500"
Message-ID: <m33e6gvtdo.fsf@trantor.cosmic.com>
Lines: 28

Mason Loring Bliss <mason@acheron.middleboro.ma.us> writes:

> > NetBSD doesn't quite have the hype potential that Linux does;
> > we just have to get by pure technical merit. :)
> 
> I wonder how long that will last with Core falling apart while concurrently
> alienating potential developers. While it's far from the ivory-tower purity
> of the BSDs, there are *so many* people running Linux that things that are
> blatantly wrong are bound to be fixed with some rapidity.

Ahh yes, the "million monkeys pounding on keyboards" theory of
software development.  It's undeniably a useful means of finding and
fixing bugs, but I'm much less convinced of its benefit in designing
and writing new code.  Read linux-kernel for a couple of weeks and you
will see a recurring theme: "we'd love to implement <feature>, but
because of the way <other feature> was designed, it will be a huge
nightmare, and break many things."  The whole discussion about how to
implement union mounts under the current Linux fs layer (something
basic which *BSD has had for years) is a good example.

As far as "alienating potential developers", I've heard this complaint
about NetBSD Core a lot more than I have actually experienced it.  Can
you be a bit more specific?

-- 
Mirian Crzig Lennox                                Systems Anarchist
          "There's a New World Order coming every minute.
                      Make mine extra cheese."