On to, 2007-01-04 at 15:23 +0000, Andrew Saunders wrote:
> On 1/4/07, Joey Hess <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> > I'm boycotting feeding any useful information to LWN anymore until they
> > retract their latest blanket insult of all DD's and stop being so biased.
> > YMMV.
>
> Could you pretty please elaborate on this a little bit? It'd be most
> interesting to hear your views on LWN's Debian-related coverage in
> detail. Perhaps a blog post, should you consider it too off-topic for
> -devel?
Joey refers to this prediction for 2007, which is part of the LWN
editorial page predictions (there's a lot of them):
Debian will get the Etch release out this year. Honest. What
could possibly go wrong? Thereafter, the Debian developers will
go back to arguing about firmware in the kernel.
(http://lwn.net/Articles/215856/, subscriber only for a week or
two)
As contrast, their prediction for 2006 regarding Debian is rather
different in tone:
Debian 'etch' will be released in December, on schedule -- or,
at least, very close to it. The Debian developers are tired of
their reputation for unreliable release schedules and see an
opportunity to improve the situation.
(http://lwn.net/Articles/166074/, should be open to everyone)
I see the 2007 prediction more as a reaction to their wrong prediction
for 2006 than as a comment on Debian, but I can't say I feel good about
it anyway.
At this point, I think the best reaction we, the developers of Debian,
could have is to find some "sisu", and sit down and finish the work
required to get etch out.
"Sisu" is a Finnish word for a concept that does not have a direct
translation in English. The Wikipedia page has a good explanation,
however:
Sisu is a Finnish term that could be roughly translated into
English as strength of will, determination, perseverance, and
acting rationally in the face of adversity. [- - -] sisu has a
long-term element in it; it is not momentary courage, but the
ability to sustain the same.
[- - -]
Depending on context, "sisu" can refer to spunk, attitude,
self-confidence, and so on. However, sisu is not bravery, nor
strength, and needs to be distinguished from courage, especially
when talking about the military. In contrast, sisu is an ability
to finish the task and get things done, as defined by Roman
Schatz in his book From Finland with Love (2005) and
decisiveness. Usually sisu means will and decisiveness to get
the things done against impossible odds, or to succeed when
given the chinaman's chance.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisu)
(That's not a quote of the entire page, I left out the non-essential
parts. You might want to read the whole page to get the full picture,
however. Sisu is not a uniquely Finnish concept, but the Finnish word is
the only one I know for it.)
When I say "we", I do mean all of us. Joey himself has done a huge
amount of work already, I do not mean to extract more out of him, but
I'm sure most people involved in Debian development could spend a few
more brain cycles.
It's too long since I've done anything for Debian. I'm going to be
picking an RC bug tonight and damn well get it fixed.
--
That which does not kill us makes us stranger
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