Re: Linux, Inc. (Re: Linux GPL and binary module exception clause?)

[Rob Landley <rob@landley.net>]

On Saturday 13 December 2003 19:06, Andre Hedrick wrote:
> Part II ...
>
> Given the issue of binary module vendors not native to Linux rules and
> standards, there becomes a need for a review body.

And thus a new layer of bureaucracy would be added to address a non-problem.
Study the history of usenix, will you?  Pay special attention to how it killed 
Atlanta Linux Showcase.  (Ask Peter Salus.)

>  Given the problem of
> most binary vendors are idiots and clueless, it provides a certification
> for a given kernel.

Sturgeon's law says that 90% of them are going to be clueless idiots, but 
that's nothing special.  The ones who make the binary modules that we 
actually care about are the 10% that _aren't_.

Nvidia, specifically, would love to release its code but it can't due to 
having licensed chunks of it from suppliers.  (Nvidia doesn't own all its own 
IP, it licenses huge chunks of it.)

> It is short of racketeiring (sp) but it mean nobody gets to use all of
> our hard work with out paying for it.  This is fair and equitable.

If you're mad that people use your hard work without paying for it, you have 
missed the entire POINT of open source.

I, personally, am fairly certain I have never paid you a dime.  My laptop has 
IDE in it, so I'd guess I'm using your work.  You have my thanks.  You do not 
have any of my money.  If this really bothers you, put a paypal link on your 
web page.

> Oh yeah in order to be invited to the board or advisory board you have to
> have some time in slavery to the kernel and continue to contribute.  Yeah
> I am back off the nutter wagon and running around free again!

I've run volunteer organizations.  I co-founded Penguicon, and I'm doing 
another one called Linucon here in Austin.  I put about $1000 of my own money 
into Penguicon, and I'm probably going to put more than that into Linucon, 
yet nobody involved with it actually got paid.  It was entirely volunteer 
run.  Even our guests of honor didn't get paid.  We flew Terry Pratchett in 
from England (a man who claims he had to switch banks having "filled the 
first one up" with book royalties), and although we bought his plane ticket, 
hotel room, and meals, we didn't actually give the man a dime.  (We did give 
him a badge ribbon that said "Geek", though, but that was more an award.)  
And he agreed to do it, and an important part was that nobody ELSE involved 
with it was paid a dime either, so it was hard to be jealous.

You've never run a volunteer effort.  It shows.  You clearly, profoundly, DO 
NOT UNDERSTAND how it works.  I admit it's a fairly tough thing to learn 
about from outside...

Here, this absolutely _sucks_, but it's the closest to a related write-up I've 
done:

http://www.fool.com/news/foth/2000/foth000731.htm
http://www.fool.com/news/foth/2000/foth000913.htm
http://www.fool.com/news/foth/2000/foth000905.htm
http://www.fool.com/news/foth/2000/foth000918.htm
http://www.fool.com/news/foth/2000/foth000925.htm
http://www.fool.com/portfolios/rulemaker/2000/rulemaker000928.htm
http://www.fool.com/news/foth/2000/foth001002.htm

And some australian woman's follow-up...

http://www.firstmonday.dk/issues/issue6_3/doheny/

I've needed to do a better write-up of this (that isn't stale, wrong in 
places, profoundly incomplete, and for a business audience) for years.  Bug 
me off-list if you're interested...

Rob

(Darn it, I ran a PANEL on this at Penguicon, with Jay Maynard of the Hercules 
project.  I just haven't got a convenient write-up I can point you to...)