Tim Foster writes: > We all thought it was okay to burn fossil fuels a few years ago; there > was a community consensus even that it was okay - this appears to be a > similar issue (though of less global importance I admit).
That's weak. My reduction (or increase or lack of change altogether) in use of fossil fuels does not materially affect your ability to use them. The growing consensus on the matter is an influence, but does not force my hand or yours. Insisting that there is only one true reference distribution of OpenSolaris, and that Indiana -- not Nexenta, not SchilliX, not any other -- delivers it, does indeed limit the ability of others to use the same name. It places constraints on the community and prevents other actions in the future. If Joerg wants to make SchilliX into _the_ reference distribution as an alternative to Indiana, he cannot. There already is one reference, and two would be at least one too many. In addition, it disenfranchises the other distributions. They're not equal. They're lesser variants that, just by definition, cannot be as compatible to real OpenSolaris in as much as they're intentionally not identical. I think the theory that some are operating under here is that all community property (such as the exclusive use of this name) is up for grabs, and the community itself needn't be involved in the decision to use it. The burden, in this view, would be on the second person to lay the same claim: Joerg would need to wrest control back by asking for a vote, with the distinct advantage going to the existing user. Given the relatively young state of the OpenSolaris community, I think that's a dangerous position to take. The consensus on the other side -- that a trademark policy is needed and that a community-wide vote should precede exclusive use of community space -- seems more prudent to me. -- James Carlson, Solaris Networking <james.d.carlson at sun.com> Sun Microsystems / 35 Network Drive 71.232W Vox +1 781 442 2084 MS UBUR02-212 / Burlington MA 01803-2757 42.496N Fax +1 781 442 1677
