The debian-private mailing list leak, part 1. Volunteers have complained about Blackmail. Lynchings. Character assassination. Defamation. Cyberbullying. Volunteers who gave many years of their lives are picked out at random for cruel social experiments. The former DPL's girlfriend Molly de Blanc is given volunteers to experiment on for her crazy talks. These volunteers never consented to be used like lab rats. We don't either. debian-private can no longer be a safe space for the cabal. Let these monsters have nowhere to hide. Volunteers are not disposable. We stand with the victims.
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RE: Debian's New Goal

Hi "Brian C. White";  On 26-Apr-96 you wrote: 
> > It is my opinion that the new objective is not a good one...
> 
> 1) OS Distributions (like the operating systems themselves) can be a very
> personal thing.  Many people will fight to stay with what they have even
> though everyone else has abandoned it.  Thus, I think you will have
> tremendous problems trying to convert everyone over to "Base".  I think
> you're more likely to get flamed than to get support.

You are probably right.

> 2) Describing Debian as a "Base System" makes it sound incomplete and unable
> to stand on it's own.  Because of that, new users are likely to avoid it like
> the plague.  Debian's user base will slowly fade.

Agree.

> 3) Package developers will start writing for other distributions.  Debian
> won't be installed on their machines (since it is only a base system) and
> any fact about Debian being in there somewhere will be unconsidered when
> they show their efforts to the world.  The base will get smaller and smaller.

Maybe?

> 4) End vendors cannot win.  By using the same base system as others,
> they lose all differentiation.  Packages can move seemlessly between all
> distributions (based on Debian, that is).  Any work they put in will
> go unrecognized as it just flows around.  They become nothing but a
> middle man putting a wrapper around what others have made.

Probably.

> People do work on Linux for various reasons:
>  - they make money selling CDs
>  - they enjoy making/supporting a product that others use
>  - they want to show off their abilities
>  - they want to do something better than it has been done before.
> 
> It doesn't matter which of the above (or any combination) reasons a
> distributor has, basing their work on others severely limits their
> personal rewards.  Thus they will avoid doing so.

This is stretching it a bit.  We ALL base our work on that of others.
Only when a base package is not certain/stable/available does it make a
developer nervous; no source, no support, broken and too complex to mend...

> In addition, I think users of any distribution but Debian would find that
> release notice extremely arrogant.  To play the devil's advocate:  "Just
> who the hell do you think you are to assume that your system is the best
> and we should all start using it?"

Isn't exactly that what made us all so happy with Mr. Stallman?

> I think the best way to proceed is much as you have been (though at a
> faster pace).  Make a solid and full distribution.  Encourage specialty
> distributions to derive from Debian.  Talk with other distributors and
> try to merge where possible.  The primary focus, though, needs to be
> a complete and solid distribution that stands on its own.

Right.


> That's gotta be at least $.09...

$0.0901

Sincerely Yours,           (Sent on 04/25/96, 18:42:17 by XF-Mail)

Simon Shapiro
Director of Technology     i-Connect.Net, a Division of iConnect Corp.
Shimon@i-Connect.Net       13455 SW Allen Blvd., Suite 140 Beaverton OR 97008