Re: OpenBSD article

[Philipp Morger <mailinglist_morger@dolphins.ch>]

On Wed, Jul 09, 2003 at 18:57:26 -0500, Ted Goodridge, Jr wrote:
> On Thu, 10 Jul 2003 09:51:07 +1000, James Buchanan 
> <softwaredev@dodo.com.au> wrote:
> 
> 	Misfit just might be fitting, but I think most people take "misfit" 
> 	as a negative when it is not always so.
> 
> Dictionary.com defines misfit as:
> 	"One who is unable to adjust to one's environment or circumstances 
> 	or is considered to be disturbingly different from others."
I guess everyone who is not waiting in an endless queue at a
Windows-Release-Day at the next software-shop might be called a misfit
today. I guess, there are orhter people than just the "Always political
correct" & "Is there something else than Windows" 

> 	Why is that necessarily a bad thing?  Most "genius" is unique, and 
It's not, it's a real bad habbit of people to describe people in
words... it's really stupid... " endless feelings/emotions/ideas" ->
limited vocuablary -> different understanding myside -> different
understanding otherside -> "feelings/emotions/ideas"... in the end you
take a dictionary and hope you understand what the other said, and hope
he wanted to say that in assumption that he knows what's written in your
dictionary. I learned why IPL (IBM Public License) is bad... in return I
hope some people learn to stop putting people into word-schemas. It's
really sickening.

> 	they are out of step with most people in society simply because they are 
> forward thinking, bright, and usually are uncompromising in their beliefs 
> and vision.  People like Theo contribute greatly to society as a whole. 
So one's considered "out of step" if he codes at home than in a billion
office building with tennis places next to it? working from 13-3 than
8-12.13-17? Most innovations came from individuals who worked somewhere
in a garage, keept focused on their vision. Didn't have a girl-friend ;)
Giving life a reason at all....

> Sometimes they can be brash, but each person has unique quirks.  
> Unfortunately, articles like this tend to characterize people in a negative 
> light without taking a look at the whole person.
Agreed, worse - this person has never ever written a mail to him, not
met in person. I know Theo is a little bit unforgiving when you ask
questions about stuff asked befor (but you were not able to find the
answer the way you wanted) and ask again... but I wouldn't dare to
characterize a person based on that... I sometimes don't even recongnize
the letters I wrote (was that me, who wrote that... must be, my name is
under it...) sometimes I even regret the words I used... somtimes not.
But as said, these days "media nerds" dig through the usenet and tend to
make pyscho profiels... jezzz....

btw, I would send my customer napalm too (thourgh the phone or email),
if my boss were not sitting next to me. Sometimes you ask the wrong
questions, at the wrong time in the wrong place - get over it. Do it
better next time. That said, folks sometimes just should start thinking
they were sitting in front of Theo's Screen (or a kind of Theo, one who
sacrifices a big amount of time reading all the mails written
@openbsd.org, coding, maintain a private life? ) and think what you
would write when someone asks such a stupid question, which is pure waste
of bits... that said, I _don't_ welcome if someone is shooting at me
with nasty words, even when I deserved it, a nice "go away" would
suffice. 

> 	What's that old adage about any publicity is good publicity?  I 
that's rubbish. I never heard that someone bought Windows because of the
credit given for it all over the net, they rather don't belive it and
reat the nifty feature-set (shaded mouse pointer, nice startup-sound,
overdozed usage of colors...) and grab it, regadless of license or cost.

> 	would love to see the numbers of users of OpenBSD over the past few years.  
> I would wager all this exposure is making people aware of this fantastic 
> Operating System.
I guess, there are people who want "it has just to work", which belive
in big fat ads and in marketing numbers and hoping to be on the safe
side, because Gartner said they are. And I guess there are others wo want to know
that there are people behind the OS who are proud of it, not because it
gives great money, not because they have a great userbase, not because
of a good marketing, but of a good product;. that is respected and
honored by it's users (community).

btw: I always wear "fireproof underwear" and turn on my "troll radar",
helps alot.

my 2c, regards
Philipp