On Saturday, July 14, 2001, 9:25:51 PM, you wrote:
<snip>
JN> GPL violation or not, part of my decisions are always based on
JN> morals (hard to find these days). Anyone trying to capture an
JN> audience using anothers name is un-ethical and un-moral. My
JN> business decision will be made with this in mind. Sometimes it is
JN> not the best business decision but I can always live with it.
JN> Joel Nelson
A lot has been said during this discussion. You covered the points I
think are most important.
I've learned a lot. I did not, for example,
know (or remember, most likely) that Paul DuBois is employed by
NuSphere. This isn't terribly relevant to the issues involved, but it
does underscore the point that this is a pretty mixed-up business. I
own Paul's book and will purchase the next one. I appreciate
NuSphere's support of such a useful addition to the body of
documentation available.
However, that said, the only way NuSphere will come out of this
situation unsullied is by deciding to "do the right thing". The right
thing, in this case, has nothing to do with what lawyers decide they
can get away with. I always worry about any entity, whether
individual or collective, that constantly expresses expectations or
intentions using phrases including the terms "rights", "legal", etc.
This is generally a red flag indicating every intent to take the
unethical, immoral, or amoral, course.
This isn't all that difficult an issue to reconcile, in my opinion.
One post described a lot of the messages dealing with this issue
(including my initial message, I suspect) as "knee-jerk". Generally,
in issues involving morality and ethics, a "knee-jerk" reaction is the
one most likely to produce the correct answer. We often instinctively
know whether something "feels right" or not. It's only after the
justifications and rationalizations have messed with our minds that we
begin to have difficulty knowing what "the right thing" is.
In this issue, MySQL clearly "belongs" to MySQL AB, and so do the
domains in question. I've looked at the .org site. With that in mind:
NuSphere, please don't insult my intelligence by maintaining the
pretense that the site is purely benevolent in intent. This reminds me
of something that passes through my mind frequently when I hear
politicians speak: "Either this guy is stupid, or he thinks I am."
Either way, I won't waste my time listening to him. Benevolence, good
intentions, a legitimate and sincere desire to contribute to the
success of MySQL are easily proven: Just turn over the domain name.
It's incredibly simple to right the wrong here, unless, again, you
allow yourself to rationalize and justify your actions, to convince
yourself that "shrewdness" is an acceptable substitute for
"rightness". Sometimes, a shrewd course of action results in
financial profit (albeit at the expense of conscience). In this case,
everyone will lose, I predict, unless "the right thing" is done,
especially NuSphere, judging from the "knee-jerk" comments, which is
as it should be.
If you really have an insatiable desire impress the MySQL community
with your benevolence, perhaps MySQL AB would be happy to let you use
"mysqlmongers.org" or another name that more clearly and ethically
conveys your intent.
Mark Chalkley
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Before posting, please check:
http://www.mysql.com/manual.php (the manual)
http://lists.mysql.com/ (the list archive)
To request this thread, e-mail <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To unsubscribe, e-mail <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Trouble unsubscribing? Try: http://lists.mysql.com/php/unsubscribe.php
