134 lines
7.5 KiB
HTML
134 lines
7.5 KiB
HTML
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<title>Free-Software Appreciation LG #73</title>
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<IMG ALT="" SRC="../gx/navbar/left.jpg" WIDTH="14" HEIGHT="45" BORDER="0" ALIGN="bottom"><A HREF="orr.html"><IMG ALT="[ Prev ]" SRC="../gx/navbar/prev.jpg" WIDTH="16" HEIGHT="45" BORDER="0" ALIGN="bottom"></A><A HREF="index.html"><IMG ALT="[ Table of Contents ]" SRC="../gx/navbar/toc.jpg" WIDTH="220" HEIGHT="45" BORDER="0" ALIGN="bottom" ></A><A HREF="../index.html"><IMG ALT="[ Front Page ]" SRC="../gx/navbar/frontpage.jpg" WIDTH="137" HEIGHT="45" BORDER="0" ALIGN="bottom"></A><A HREF="http://www.linuxgazette.com/cgi-bin/talkback/all.py?site=LG&article=http://www.linuxgazette.com/issue73/orr2.html"><IMG ALT="[ Talkback ]" SRC="../gx/navbar/talkback.jpg" WIDTH="121" HEIGHT="45" BORDER="0" ALIGN="bottom" ></A><A HREF="../faq/index.html"><IMG ALT="[ FAQ ]" SRC="./../gx/navbar/faq.jpg"WIDTH="62" HEIGHT="45" BORDER="0" ALIGN="bottom"></A><A HREF="padala.html"><IMG ALT="[ Next ]" SRC="../gx/navbar/next.jpg" WIDTH="15" HEIGHT="45" BORDER="0" ALIGN="bottom" ></A><IMG ALT="" SRC="../gx/navbar/right.jpg" WIDTH="15" HEIGHT="45" ALIGN="bottom">
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<H4 ALIGN="center">
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"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
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<P> <HR> <P>
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<H1><font color="maroon">Free-Software Appreciation</font></H1>
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<H4>By <a href="mailto:gazette@ssc.com">Mike ("Iron") Orr</a></H4>
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<P> A letter linked on Slashdot got me thinking. It was written by Christoph
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Pfisterer when he resigned from the Fink project.
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(<A HREF="http://fink.sourceforge.net/">Fink</A> is an attempt to "bring
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the full world of Unix Open Source software to Darwin and Mac OS X.") But
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it's not Fink itself I want to focus on, but the fact that it's free software.
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A developer is resigning from a free-software project because of the
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unappreciative demands of its users.
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He writes, "I'm tired of dealing with people who don't
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appreciate what they get for free. I'm tired of dealing with people who
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think they have a commercial-grade, 24/7, one hour turn-around time
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support contract with Fink.... I'm tired of people who complain loudly
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when something doesn't work, but fall silent when asked to help in
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fixing it.... I'm tired of putting my professional future at risk by
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neglecting my studies."
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<P> Here's the original letter:
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<A HREF="http://www.geocrawler.com/lists/3/SourceForge/11114/125/7038861/">
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http://www.geocrawler.com/lists/3/SourceForge/11114/125/7038861/</A>
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<P> This is one of the dangers every free-software developer faces. Have you
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hugged your favorite free-software developer today? OK, I'm joking. But if
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there's a free program you use a lot and really depend on, especially one that
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doesn't get a lot of recognition or is maintained by one volunteer, tell them
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how much you appreciate it. Consider giving a financial or in-kind donation to
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them or to their favorite free-software organization or charity. Or send a
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donation to the <A HREF="http://www.eff.org/">Electronic Frontier
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Foundation</A> in their name. Love makes the world go round, and
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recognition (and taking care of the developers' material needs) helps the
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free-software world go round.
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<P> Another way to show your appreciation is to become a contributing user.
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You can code, write documentation, submit bug reports, or answer newbie questions.
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Many projects have a TODO list showing work they'd like to do when they have time.
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Are any of those goals things you can do? You may find that one of those TODO
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items would actually benefit you too.
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<P> As the adage goes, "If you can't code, write documentation." Are there parts
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of the documentation you feel are lacking? Is there any documentation at all?
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What advice did you wish you had when you first installed the program? Put it
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in a HOWTO. LG has been running several articles about documentation in the
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past couple issues, and January and February will bring even more.
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<P> Some projects have a closed development team, meaning they don't accept code
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from outside the core team. But even these sites are happy to receive bug reports
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from users, especially if the reports include a proposed fix or at least some
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research into what might be causing the problem and how to solve it. OK, maybe
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"happy" isn't the right word, because it means more work for them. But this
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additional work leads to a more bulletproof product.
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<P> The more users actively contribute on a project's bugtracker and mailing lists,
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the more the core developers will feel that their effort is worthwhile, and that
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translates into better software.
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<P> Also, participating in the development of your favorite software helps give you
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a sense of ownership in it. Which gives you something to brag about to your friends.
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<SPACER TYPE="vertical" SIZE="30">
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<P>
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<H4><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/note.gif">Mike Orr</H4>
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<EM>Mike ("Iron") is the Editor of <I>Linux Gazette</I>. You can read what he has
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to say in the Back Page column in this issue. He has been a Linux enthusiast
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since 1991 and a Debian user since 1995. He is SSC's web technical
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coordinator, which means he gets to write a lot of Python scripts.
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Non-computer interests include Ska/Oi! music and the international language
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Esperanto. The nickname Iron was given to him in college--short for Iron Orr,
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hahaha.</H4>
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<P> <hr> <!-- P -->
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<H5 ALIGN=center>
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Copyright © 2001, Mike ("Iron") Orr.<BR>
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Copying license <A HREF="../copying.html">http://www.linuxgazette.com/copying.html</A><BR>
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Published in Issue 73 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, December 2001</H5>
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