I cannot see any justification for the slamming that Tridgell is getting and it's worse that it's coming from a very respected figure, so maybe _I've_ got something wrong here; it's time the ethical argument _was_ tested and debated between Torvald and Tridgell in the open so I can read what both sides really think and I can make up my own mind. Torvald can't be talking c**p but neither can Tridgell - maybe here is a chance for us all to study a very important debate; if BitKeeper would play ball then may
I see what you mean about McVoy's boot on Tridge, but I don't see what you mean about Tridge's boot on Torvalds. I don't really see how Tridge wronged Torvalds at all. Linus, OTOH, has very publicly slammed Tridge.
Of course, although I did RTFA (and the one before that and the one before that and...) I could have missed something.
Linus wanted to keep the status quo, as in he was happy with the tool and wanted to continue using it. If nobody rocked the boat, that could have continued.
Tridge knew McVoy's position on reverse engineering BitKeeper, and that OSDL's license would be pulled as a result. So he forced the situation by reverse engineering the tool.
That's what I mean by 'the boot.' No matter how much Linus wanted to continue using the tool, given McVoy's policy, Tridge had the power to force the kernel onto a different CMS and that's what he did.
Don't put the ethical arguments aside please... (Score:1)
Re:Don't put the ethical arguments aside please... (Score:2)
Such a debate would just be more heat and light.
This isn't *really* about reverse engineering.
It's about putting your boot on someone's neck and asking if they like it. Turns out there are two sets of boots involved (McVoy's and Tridge's).
Tridge didn't like McVoy's boot on his neck so he did something about it. But in the process, Linus got Tridge's treads on his neck too.
Simple human drama. Nothing more to see here, really.
Re:Don't put the ethical arguments aside please... (Score:1)
I see what you mean about McVoy's boot on Tridge, but I don't see what you mean about Tridge's boot on Torvalds. I don't really see how Tridge wronged Torvalds at all. Linus, OTOH, has very publicly slammed Tridge.
Of course, although I did RTFA (and the one before that and the one before that and...) I could have missed something.
Re:Don't put the ethical arguments aside please... (Score:3)
Tridge knew McVoy's position on reverse engineering BitKeeper, and that OSDL's license would be pulled as a result. So he forced the situation by reverse engineering the tool.
That's what I mean by 'the boot.' No matter how much Linus wanted to continue using the tool, given McVoy's policy, Tridge had the power to force the kernel onto a different CMS and that's what he did.