Re: Eleven good candidates

[Mike Kestner <mkestner ameritech net>]

Hi John,

Thanks for your comments.

John Heard wrote:

> ... I also know that having the presence on the
> GNOME Foundation board by someone affiliated with Sun will be recognized by
> ISV's, platform developers and vendors, the media, service providers, etc.

So Sun's presence somehow transmutes us from a bunch of crackpots into a
serious endeavor? :-)

> Such credentials will be necessary for the GNOME Foundation to be a recognized
> voice - a major voice for the significance of open and free software.

Am I reading this correctly?  Are you suggesting that a lack of Sun
representation on the Foundation board somehow decreases the perceived
significance of free software?  Don't get me wrong.  I think that Sun
deserves credit for recognizing the strength of the free software model
and having the courage to set a precedent here.  However, I find the
above sort of rhetoric to be a little demeaning to the significance of
what has been accomplished already with little corporate affiliation. 
Sun saw the steamroller coming and decided it's better to roll than be
rolled.  Others will recognize this too, whether a Sun rep sits on the
board or not.

> Like you, I am committed to helping the GNOME community reach these goals, 

Welcome aboard.  While the above may sound like the ranting of an
anti-Sun zealot, nothing would please me more than to see copious
quantities of Sun hackers integrate smoothly into the community. I've
been spending a considerable amount of time (from my limited part-time
hacker perspective) looking at OpenOffice Drawing APIs, so I recognize
the magnitude of the contribution you've (i.e. the Sun hackers) already
given us.

Mike