From: David Alan Black <dblack@...>
Date: 2001-10-07T19:37:54+09:00
Subject: [ruby-talk:22187] Re: Let's work on Windows support

Hello --

On Sun, 7 Oct 2001, Furio R. Filoseta (tlf.) wrote:

> Who cares if they ditch the standard ? They will still have to be self
> compatible.

My concern is with the possibility of millions of machines on which
"Ruby" is understood as a language, say, without continuations.  (This
is a semi-random example; I think I remember discussion on this, but
s/continuations/whatever/.)  Then people writing Ruby, or using
existing Ruby components, won't be able to.

> [...]
>
> If this is so, where exactly is that we become puppets in the hands of
> BG and his band of merry men ?
>
> I don't know, guys, there IS such thing as taking a revolution so far
> that it begins to resemble the overthrown regime. Starts with
> revolutionaries beginning to act in exactly the same way as their
> previous oppressors: This wont be done, because it is NOT OUR WAY !!!
> Sheesh.

I am reminded of an exchange between my father and his mother, from
when he was a kid:

  Dad's mom:  Charles, you're so stubborn.  You always want your way!
  Dad:  Well if I didn't want it, it wouldn't be my way!

:-)

I'm also reminded of the film "Pocahantas", which presents the
conflict between the white conquerors (or whatever Disney calls them;
probably "cultural diversity consultants" or something) and the
Iroquois as an even-handed difference in perspective: essentially, "We
want to appropriate your land"... "We want to keep our land"... Well,
let's all sit down like gentlemen and work something out.

In other words, the "you're acting just like them" argument doesn't
scale.  If you're characterizing open source programmers as
revolutionaries, and Micros**t as the overthrown regime, then in
saying the former resembles the latter you're off by ... (wait,
counting zeros)... probably six or seven orders of magnitude.  But
I'll compromise: I'll answer to the charge of resembling MS after I've
made my first ten billion.


David

-- 
David Alan Black
home: dblack@candle.superlink.net
work: blackdav@shu.edu
Web:  http://pirate.shu.edu/~blackdav