Closed source modules will be banned from kernel?

Ed Greshko Ed.Greshko at greshko.com
Tue Jul 8 15:13:00 UTC 2008


John Burton wrote:
> Ed Greshko wrote:
>> Anne Wilson wrote:
>>> On Monday 07 July 2008 20:37:33 Tom Horsley wrote:
>>>> On Mon, 7 Jul 2008 19:51:51 +0100
>>>>
>>>> Alan Cox <alan at lxorguk.ukuu.org.uk> wrote:
>>>>> Binary modules usually last only a few releases before changes in the
>>>>> kernel break them by accident anyway so I would assume that if a 
>>>>> binary
>>>>> driver vendor goes under the clock is ticking.
>>>> I wouldn't say "by accident" - It has been my experience that
>>>> most of the time, the breakage is not only highly deliberate, but
>>>> triggered mostly by the high incidence of extreme OCD which kernel
>>>> developers seem to suffer from, causing them to make fantastic
>>>> wholesale changes to driver interfaces for utterly trivial
>>>> cosmetic reasons which add no stability or functionality, but
>>>> merely relieve their obsessive need to correct some "flaw" which
>>>> no one else can perceive :-).
>>>
>>> Why is it considered OK to insult people on a mailing list, when you 
>>> wouldn't to their face?
>>
>> I don't feel there is any insult above.  An opinion was offered about 
>> a class of people.  And, frankly, should I were to hold that opinion I 
>> would not hesitate to express it in that manner in public to the 
>> group's face.  In fact, I've done so with a bunch of X.400 developers 
>> at a conference in Australia.  Can't remember what city...we all got 
>> too drunk.  :-)
>>
>> Besides, Alan did append a :-) which automatically absolves the writer 
>> of any ill intent or presumed intent.
>>
> Sorry, first off, it wasn't Alan who did the insulting or appending 
> (Alan is a kernel driver developer). It was Tom who did the insulting. 
> Second, appending a :-) does not absolve you of the responsibility for 
> what you say, any more than smiling while telling a bald faced lie 
> absolves you of the responsibility for that lie.

It wasn't Alan?  Then the attribution lineage of my email client must be in 
error.

Yet, if you :-) all of your remarks one never knows if you mean it or not so 
it become moot.

> As for "an opinion was offered about a class of people..." that is 
> bigoted horse-shit. To sit in judgment of any group of people and insult 
> them like that shows a decided lack of maturity and intelligence. It's 
> the same thing as saying "All Irish are dunken lazy bums", or "All jews 
> will lie, cheat or steal for money" or "All Americans are loud, 
> obnoxious and arrogant"  . If you want to judge a person, judge a 
> person, DO NOT generalize to a "class of people"

So, what does an "American Jew originally from Ireland" become?

And when will we all stop taking ourselves so seriously?

Besides, the only loud, obnoxious Americans are from Texas...don't you know?

FWIW, I'm from New Jersey...I have an excuse.




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