Linux is not about choice [was Re: Fedora too cutting edge?]

[Andrew Farris]

Christopher Brown wrote:
> On 10/01/2008, Patrice Dumas <pertusus at free.fr> wrote:
>> On Wed, Jan 09, 2008 at 07:38:42PM -0500, David Zeuthen wrote:
>>> On Thu, 2008-01-10 at 01:19 +0100, Patrice Dumas wrote:
>>>> It isn't that simple. Do we also want community handle on fedora or
>>>> not? I really like redhat leadership and innovations, but I don't want
>>>> to be a puppet either. If people from the community with specific needs
>>>> and wants are to be accepted in fedora, it means that radical simplicity
>>>> is not possible.
>>> Oh nice. Now you're playing the "RH vs. community" card. Priceless. News
>>> flash: this is _not_ about RH vs. the community. It's about realizing
>>> that software development is _hard_. It's about realizing that throwing
>> It is not exactly "RH vs. community". I just want to make sure that
>> things like xdm, initng, fluxbox, compat packages, xpdf or a non linux
>> kernel (all are things that are duplicates of other packages) are still
>> welcomed in fedora. After all it is not necessarily an issue if not, but
>> this should be stated explicitely.
>>
>> My personal understanding of fedora was that a package was accepted as
>> long as it was free software, usable in fedora, and decently integrated.
>> Isn't it still the case?
> 
> Of course but at some point, particularly with something such as
> separate subsystem stacks in the kernel, someone has to make a
> technical choice. In this instance JuJu was enabled in 7+ with the
> intention to work with the maintainers to resolve issues as they
> arose. Firewire in Linux is a mess but it is improving, thanks largely
> to the JuJu team and if I may say, the inclusion of said stack in
> Fedora. One of the maintainers is extremely active on the Fedora
> bugzilla.

I think here (Christopher says it well) is the most salient point on 'is it 
welcome or not'... the problem that started the thread (JuJu new vs old stack) 
was simply the primary maintainer choosing to go with new, and if anyone (other 
than that maintainer who chose not to) had provided the appropriate 
compatibility/switching/coexistence patches to have both available I am pretty 
certain that it could have and would have been done.  I mean look at the history 
  and how long the simple mta switcher app survives because someone provided it 
when other options than sendmail were available.

So Patrice I think the answer is and always will be 'its welcome' but the issue 
is who will do it.  When that choice (or any other hard choice of innovation vs 
current working compatibility) is made it is up to those who need current 
compatibility to help keep it available.  As others have said in the thread to 
plan on the primary maintainers handling it in a 'keep everything forever' 
fashion is guaranteed to be madness and a big failure.

-- 
Andrew Farris <lordmorgul at gmail.com> <ajfarris at gmail.com>
  gpg 0xC99B1DF3 fingerprint CDEC 6FAD BA27 40DF 707E A2E0 F0F6 E622 C99B 1DF3
No one now has, and no one will ever again get, the big picture. - Daniel Geer
----                                                                       ----