Re: Eleven good candidates

[bruce perens com (Bruce Perens)]

From: Mike Kestner <mkestner ameritech net>
> 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.

Sigh. There is no question that the interest of Sun has already brought GNOME
some very significant credibility _outside_of_our_crowd_. We have to accept
this even though it is horribly unfair. We resent the fact that the people who
are now "bringing us credibility" didn't raise a finger to help us get here.
We resent that while we were building the software that they now use, they were
explaining to the press and public why a Free Software license wasn't a good
idea. But we won this fight. And now we have a choice of letting them in, for
the good of our project, or continuing to resent them after the reason is gone.

Yes, we can succeed without them. But there are few things more impressive than
converting a powerful enemy into a powerful friend. People will be watching how
we handle this. If we do it right, we have the chance to get Free Software into
a lot of people's hands. We should be willing to swallow any lingering
resentment we may have to get that done.

	Thanks

	Bruce