Date: Thu, 9 Nov 2000 12:50:46 +0000 (GMT)
From: Tigran Aivazian <tigran@veritas.com>
To: Larry McVoy <lm@bitmover.com>
cc: Christoph Rohland <cr@sap.com>,
        Michael Rothwell <rothwell@holly-springs.nc.us>,
        richardj_moore@uk.ibm.com, linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org
Subject: Re: [ANNOUNCE] Generalised Kernel Hooks Interface (GKHI)
In-Reply-To: <20001108235312.H22781@work.bitmover.com>
Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.4.21.0011091236340.1987-100000@saturn.homenet>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
Sender: linux-kernel-owner@vger.kernel.org

On Wed, 8 Nov 2000, Larry McVoy wrote:
> As long as Linus continues in his current role, I doubt much of
> anything that the big iron boys do will really make it back into the
> generic kernel.

That is great, thank you. At least I know now someone on this planet who
agrees with me! Everyone (regardless of whether he has seen commercial
UNIX source or not, but it pains most to hear from those who have) seems
to be sceptical when I say exactly the above. They think "how could that
possibly be -- the "big iron Unixen" had such a large investment of real
money to make them full of "enterprise-features", surely there must be
something useful for Linux to learn from". To which I reply -- "most
(probably 99-100%) Linux kernel hackers have access to the source code of
most (probably 40%-90% depending on their lack) flavours of commercial
UNIX and would be quite happy to "steal" code from it (as long as they,
like myself agree with RMS philosophy/morals) but the reality is -- there
is _nothing_ to steal from it". Commercial UNIXen are just useless -- we
_have_ to rewrite everything from scratch, not because we can't steal (or
think it immoral) but because there is nothing interesting to steal left.
The free stuff is actually better and technically superior to that which
is not free.

To contradict to myself (just a tiny bit!) I think it would still be
useful for the public in general (by "public in general" I meant those
clueless individuals who write the laws men have to obey) to recognize the
above fact and let the hackers be no longer shy about it, i.e. be able to
freely discuss any information they have (or had) access to, so that, in
the unlikely case that there is something useful to "steal" from it, they
can take it freely and put it into Linux.

Regards,
Tigran

PS. The very fact I can say the above and still (hope to) have a job
afterwards is a sign of much progress towards the better end :)

PPS. Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the
patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. (Eccl 7:8)

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