I'd like to add my perspective to this issue, as a relative outsider to the development of OpenSolaris, but a person very interested in the success of OpenSolaris as a whole, and a person who's closely followed many other open source development communities.
The first thing I'd like to point out is that I feel that the front page is very clear that OpenSolaris means many different things, and that the OpenSolaris Developer Preview is just ONE of those things. I don't at all get the impression that the OpenSolaris Developer Preview IS OpenSolaris, nor that it is claiming to be officially endorsed by OpenSolaris the Community, nor that it is attempting to undermine the efforts of other OpenSolaris distros. I get the clear perspective that Project Indiana is heavy backing by Sun, that Sun is investing a lot of resources into it's development, while still holding that development in the open, and encouraging outside participation, and that Sun has decided to brand Indiana in it's current state as OpenSolaris Developer Preview. As a relative outsider, I was not at all surprised to see Sun brand Indiana as OpenSolaris Developer Preview, as that's what I've understood Indiana to be all along. I honestly don't understand what has changed between calling it Project Indiana, and calling it OpenSolaris Developer Preview. Furthermore, I don't see anything in the charter that says the OGB or OpenSolaris the Community need to be consulted in how OpenSolaris the brand is applied by Sun. From my perspective, it is clear that OpenSolaris the Developer Preview is not equivalent to OpenSolaris the Community, and it is equally clear that OpenSolaris the brand belongs to Sun. I'm not trying to say that those that are upset have no right to feel upset. There is much Sun could have done to have the Community more involved in this, and I think there are valuable discussions that could be had regarding how to handle situations like this in the future to avoid these negative feelings in the Community. I do think it is extremely valuable to ensure that the Community as a whole is comfortable with Sun's stewardship (or abdication thereof) of OpenSolaris the brand, and this issue makes clear that there is much improvement that could be made in that area. In all sincerity though, can we please try to redirect all this stop energy regarding the naming choice that Sun made, and direct it in a more positive direction? Just as OpenSolaris is not just OpenSolaris the Developer Preview, it is also not just OpenSolaris the Community. OpenSolaris is many things. I personally feel that the Community or OGB trying to demanding that Sun not call the results of Project Indiana OpenSolaris Developer Preview offers no tangible benefit to users of OpenSolaris the Code, nor Participators in the Community. This message posted from opensolaris.org _______________________________________________ opensolaris-discuss mailing list opensolaris-discuss@opensolaris.org
