On Fri, Jan 22, 1999 at 20:26:12 +1100, Craig Sanders wrote: > On Wed, Jan 20, 1999 at 06:12:14PM -0500, Ben Pfaff wrote: > > Laurent Martelli <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > > What about non-developper users ? Shouldn't they have a word to say, > > even if they can't or do not have the time to contribute with code ? > > > > They should have `a word to say', and they do--they can subscribe to > > Debian lists and give their feedback and advice, which developers are > > free to follow or ignore. But they do not, and should not, IMO, have > > the privilege of voting or otherwise setting policy. Users are not > > developers and shouldn't presume to be. > > i mostly agree but wouldn't put it anywhere near that strongly.
I would. Ben's phrasing strongly reminds me of Robert A. Heinlein; especially of the concept of TANSTAAFL and the political system he describes in "Starship Troopers", where the right to vote must be earned through a tour of duty of public (not necessary military) service. In the case of Debian, users do not have the right of vote, but can earn it by becoming developers (i.e. by maintaining packages, but also by writing documentation, maintaining the website etc.). Ray -- POPULATION EXPLOSION Unique in human experience, an event which happened yesterday but which everyone swears won't happen until tomorrow. - The Hipcrime Vocab by Chad C. Mulligan
