> I suspect that this is getting into conversations that a "Linux
> Consultants SIG" should have, and not a conversation in the lines of "What
> should CLUE do to properly start a Linux Consultants SIG".
I agree but I'll just add my 2 cents before bowing out of the discussion
because you guys seem to be talking in circles.
> This is not going to be as easy as you are suspecting it to be. Some of
> us have founded our businesses on publicly "picking sides" where it
> relates to licenses and other business models.
>
> I consider this to be no different than a coffee-house that has created
> a business model that only accepts "fair trade coffee". Having a
> restaurant group claiming they are a lesser-business for not being liberal
> and accepting all coffee isn't going to be helpful to anyone.
I don't see the point in this bickering. Does whether or not someone agrees
with Bell Canada's policies prevent you from listing your phone number or
going into the yellow pages?
> > Professionals do have to deal with multiple licences.
>
> There we go again ... ;-)
Professionals have to behave professionally. If they choose to deal with
only certain types of licensed materials, that's their decision. If they
start ridiculing, attacking or doing other 'unprofessional' things, that's
different. Same goes for the 'liberal licence lovers'.
> Dealing with multiple licenses doesn't make you a professional. We are
> talking about business models, not whether or not a given business is
> professional or not. What is good for the profession as a whole is also
> something that is going to be hard to get agreement on.
Maybe I missed something (I haven't been reading all of this stuff - I'm
relying on Bill to summarize everything :) but what 'profession' are we
talking about? Professional Linux consultants? What is that? Admins?
Programmers? Speakers? Lobbyists? Evangalist? Project Managers? All of
the above?
> What I am doing is questioning the use of the phrase "professional" to
> itself be associated with being "license liberal".
Exactly. I'm applying for my P.Eng. this year. I have to demonstrate a few
things: a knowledge of professional ethics, law, education, experience and
good character. I don't have to tell them how I'm going to run my business,
what clients or work I'm willing to do or my personal philosophies.
They do have a code of ethics that I have to follow:
http://www.peo.on.ca/Ethics/code_of_ethics.html
but they aren't so bold (or crazy) as to spell those out in super-fine detail.
> As to the cracker/hacker/etc, lets try another example: deliberately
> breaking the law.
> In a deliberate defiance of the DMCA, I "illegally according to the USA"
> watched a few DVD movies on my Linux computer using Open Source players
> which make use of the "public secret" known as DeCSS.
I don't think that you're really speaking about 'professionalism' or the
'SIG' here. You're talking about civil disobedience. I suspect that if CLUE
were to assist that sort of thing, the s**t would hit the fan. Discourse,
public statements/news and lobbying on those issues would be acceptable,
though.
--
matthew rice <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> starnix inc.
phone: 905-771-0017 x242 thornhill, ontario, canada
http://www.starnix.com professional linux services & products
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