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[20050119]
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More OpenBSD bullshit, and GeNUA
So I had to add two new entries to my RIPOFF
file today: One about some small change in the PUC driver, where
credit was given, but after carefully digging out the NetBSD developer's
private email address instead of using the official NetBSD address from
the source-changes message. See "20020602" entry of the
RIPOFF file.
The second entry is more annoying, as it's hurting NetBSD's reputation
in a print magazine:
The company GeNUA, producer of firewalls from Germany, was
abandoning BSDi and looking at alternatives. In an interview
in the german magazine "freeX" they describe how they choose
OpenBSD. NetBSD was not chosen as the NetBSD developer group was
considered too closed and to rarely pick up inspirations from
outside, which makes it hard to integrate it into release
planing:
``Problematisch ist es dagegen fuer GeNUA, dass die
NetBSD-Entwicklung von einer sehr geschlossenen Gruppe
betrieben wird, die externen Anregungen nur selten
aufgreift. So ist es schwierig, zukuenftig benoetigte
Features sicher in die Release-Planung einzubringen.
Aus diesem Grund konnte GeNUA nicht auf NetBSD als
Basis fuer die weitere Entwicklung von GeNUGate setzen.''
(FreeX 1/2005, Seite 8)
Contacting the chief of GeNUA who was also interviewed in that
article, Magnus Harlander, how this impression came and whom
they talked to, I got the answer that this was the response
that they got from several OpenBSD developers(!) they had asked,
which apparently tried to report several NetBSD kernel bugs.
So:
- GeNUA never contacted NetBSD directly (in contrast to
what the article makes one think)
- OpenBSD developers apparently never made it clear they
were talking for someone else when they communicated
with NetBSD
- Given personal experience and history of relation between
NetBSD and OpenBSD, I'd be surprised if the contact was
made in a constructive manner. (I have no further details
here, so just a guess)
While I welcome everyone to choose whatever OS they want to use,
and while I'm even more happy to see people use a (OS based on a)
decent OS, BUT making wrong statements about project NetBSD in
public annoys me, and I guess I'll have to think what to best do
to answer this whole incident.
Suggestions welcome!
[Tags: openbsd, rants]
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