Yes there is an Open Source Community.
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| Author | Content |
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| salparadise Jan 13, 2006 11:04 PM EDT |
I have to disagree with this article in that it says there is no Community. I understand he's trying to distance Open Source from the "wild eyed radicals" in order to make business less jittery.
I think he's making a mistake. The question isn't "is there an Open Source Community or not?" but rather "why shouldn't there be Open Source Community with political ideas and ideological leanings?." The article suggests that the idealism and longing for a better world that often accompanies use of Open Source is a silly, unfounded opinion that isn't really held by anyone. In this he is wrong. Linux is a gift beyond words. If I wanted a computer setup with an equivalent amount of software from the proprietary world it would costs me 1000's of pounds. Yet here I sit, with the whole lot for free. Thus enabled how can I not try to put something back. And then the penny begins to drop, "hey, this is about me being given the opportunity to join in and help". It's wonderful. Not shut out by the self appointed elite, but welcomed as a human being. Everyone should have a chance to find this. Quoting:Spreading the idea of freedom is a big job--it needs your help. That's why we stick to the term ``free software'' in the GNU Project, so we can help do that job. If you feel that freedom and community are important for their own sake--not just for the convenience they bring--please join us in using the term ``free software''. I suppose it's inevitable that those whose eye is on the profit line should find and make use of Open Source in order to maximise their profit. They have missed the point and show capitalism for what it is. A heartless, selfish doctrine that is interested only in its own improvement at any cost. And just as the mobile phone companies prosper from the chaos and death in the Congo, playing one warlord off against another in order to keep the price of Coltan down, so Open Source is defenseless against those who see an opportunity to exploit the price tag and make a few more coins per year. So, despite the cynicism of business and the way some are prepared to roll over and be self deceived in order to attract business (another pointer to the true nature of capitalism is the way it demands it's adherents deny reality, "what global warning?, what pollution?, what exploited workforce?") the ideological angle that some have found through Open Source will continue to spread. Vive la revolution! |
| helios Jan 14, 2006 5:22 AM EDT |
A friend of mine,,,he actually built Lobby4Linux from the ground up, would argue the main point. If we are to find the word community as "a group of like-minded people intent on the betterment of the group as a whole", how can anyone deny the existance of the Linux Community. Case in point...With PCLOS, it was impossible to get firefox to open a link to Thunderbird. My friend Okie looked at the problem and provided the fix Since it works for about 80 percent of the people who use it, I would consider this a gift to the community. We might not have a water tower and a volunteer fire department, but the Linux Community is indeed viable and active. |
| helios Jan 14, 2006 5:24 AM EDT |
anchor text did not take...see the fix script at http://66.69.202.210:8003 |
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