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[linux-team] Is the Linux Community in danger? de www.ssc.com/linux
The next time you see an advertisement for proprietary software, look for the
hidden,
underlying message. It's almost always something to this effect: our product
will give you
greater control over problems in your life which you cannot control right now.
Whether it's
your business, communicating with friends or drawing pictures, software is
supposed to make
life better. The reality, of course, is that proprietary software has become
just another of life's
daily problems over which people have little or no control. This leaves users
of proprietary
software alienated from the very technology that is billed as a cure for their
problems.
Consider also the sudden flurry of mainstream media stories about Linux and
Open Source
software. Chances are you'll hear mention of the legion of Internet-based
programmers who
toil endlessly for the good of the code. Other stories may offer accounts from
hackers such as
Linus Torvalds, Eric S. Raymond and Richard Stallman. But frequently missing
from these
stories are accurate accounts of what most of us know as the Linux community.
Right now, some members of the Linux community view these omissions, combined
with the
sudden explosion in corporate interest in Linux, as signs of a possible threat
to the once
inviolable community. These fears are unfounded.
To see why, let's examine what the Linux community really is and how it appeals
to different
kinds of users. Here's one way of defining it: the Linux community consists of
anyone and
everyone who has ever voluntarily contributed to the growth and improvement of
Linux and
the free software that works with it. By becoming a Linux user and contributing
to its
development, however small your part, you are no longer a customer--you are a
member of a
community. Herein lies the true strength and appeal of Linux.
It seems that journalists constantly harp on our lack of technical support,
giving corporate
evaluators an easy excuse to overlook Linux. Yet while journalists harp and
businesses
waver, we just keep on coding, debugging and helping each other via the
internet. Why?
Because the fee-for-service technical support is just an illusion of control--a
price users
pay to feel less removed from something they are supposed to have control over
in the first
place. And that price is way too high, considering that you can never buy
control over the
software anyway.
Being a part of the Linux community, giving something back no matter how
little, means you
are no longer removed from the process of technological change. No, your
computer does not
automatically become easier for you to use the instant you sign on as a
card-carrying
member of the Linux community. But what does go away immediately is the sense
that you are
powerless in the face of the proprietary software monstrosity.
That's why the Linux community, and hence Linux, will never go away or be
purloined by
corporate interests. No matter what happens this year, or what the next decade
holds for the
growth and development of free software, Linux will continue to have appeal as
a community,
not just as a cheaper way of doing business.
----------------------------------------------------------
Alexandre J.D. Dulaunoy | http://unix.be.EU.org/~adulau |
adulau@unix.be.EU.org | DSS PGP : 0x4165497C |
_____________ (aka) AD993-RIPE/AD4384-DARPA ______________
"Anyone who attempts to generate random numbers by
deterministic means is, of course, living in a
state of sin." -- John von Neumann
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