Re: COMPLETELY OT -- Re: [Security-Discuss] Gael Duval

* Matt Parker <matt-GI5F06Pch7ob0QgIrC/[email protected]> [2006-03-21 00:59:18 +0000]:

> > > Sorry for being off-topic.  But I'd disagree, I think every employee has
> > > a part to play in the "output quality" of any company to varying degrees.
> >
> > This is off-topic.  You can apologize all you like, but you still had to
> > get your digs in.  That's fine, I don't have a problem with that, but
> > consider this topic completely OT here.
> >
> > If you feel the need to discuss this, feel free to discuss it on the
> > Club forums, the expert and/or newbie lists, or even cooker for all I
> > care.  Please do not continue this thread here.
> >
> > This has absolutely *nothing* to do with security in any shape or form.
> > I think it's great that you want to stick up for Gael (even though I
> > think you're elevating his reputation and status a little bit), but
> > please do so in other places.  I know this is being discussed to death
> > in other places, and that's fine, but please don't do it here.
> >
> > Thanks.
> 
> It does have something to do with security. The "corporatisation" of Mandrake 
> has everything to do with the quality of the software, which has been going 
> downhill in a demonstrable way since the merger. 

Actually, it doesn't.  The quality of security updates has never been
better.  I can't speak for the distro itself and how things are handled
in cooker since that's not my "department", but I can assure you that
security updates are being handled quite well.  I can also assure you
that there is no more of a decline of security in the distribution
itself (in terms of security features) than in the past.  Quality of
software declining does not necessarily mean a decline in security
(stability, perhaps, but not security).

> The thing that attracted me to Linux (and Mandrake) in general was the sense 
> of community and the sense that us mere users can affect the direction and 
> quality of the base software. From your response I see that you don't 
> actually care about this. So, I give a big fuck you to you and your new 
> employers corporate attitude, and I'm off to use another distribution that 
> both maintains the original open source ethos and at the same time is willing 
> to expend the effort to make sure that the software itself is of a high 
> enough standard. The mere fact that you are dismissing this as completely off 
> topic shows exactly where your priorities lie - with you job, and not with 
> your users.

Wow.  I get it from both directions I guess.  Thanks for the comments
and I wish you the best.

I could defend myself, but I won't bother.  You look like you've already
made up your mind.  Those who know me know that I do *not* have a
"corporate attitude" and if nothing else I am more on the user's side
than on my employer's side... I have busted my *ass* for this community
for five long years and I love the fact that what I've done has
absolutely no bearing whatsoever on your opinion of me... because I deem
something off-topic, all of a sudden I'm a corporate junkie in a monkey
suit.  Oh well.

And, FYI, my priorities lie with users, serving users, and making sure
that the (yes) job I do is the best I can because if I didn't, I would
be doing you, the user, a disservice.  So I guess my priorities lie with
both job and user.  Without one, I wouldn't have the other, and without
the other, I couldn't serve the one in the same capacity I do.

At any rate, thanks for the comments, I always enjoy getting sworn at,
and I hope you find yourself a distro that meets with your... needs.
Good luck with that.

Oh, and this topic is *still* off-topic.  If you feel the need to vent,
please take it to slashdot.  Thanks.  I'm sure there are others who
don't want to listen to such ravings.

-- 
"lynx -source http://linsec.ca/vdanen.asc | gpg --import"
{FEE30AD4 : 7F6C A60C 06C2 4811 FA1C  A2BC 2EBC 5E32 FEE3 0AD4}
Wasting time like it was free...

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