[lug] The changing Linux Community was Re: cp and rm

[J. Wayde Allen]

On 2 Aug 2001, Chris Riddoch wrote:

> Contributing includes more than just coding. If you find a bug in a
> program, and report it in a way that the programmers will be able to
> understand what went wrong, that's contributing.
>
>...<snip>...
>
> Maybe someone could add to this, and I could make a short
> Contributing-HOWTO, or something. Brainstorm time?

I don't think that HOWTO's are the solution to every problem.  In this
case, I think that everyone needs to find their own way of supporting the
community.  In my case, I started the BLUG.

It may also be worth pointing out that all of the commercial Linux
business models are based on the concept of "value added".  None of the
Linux distributions are uniquely coded from the ground up, but rather
assembled from the collection of software developed by the community at
large.  The new Linux consumer needs to understand this.  In some ways,
the vendors themselves maybe even need to be reminded of this.

A person isn't exactly buying the "operating system" from a vendor, but
rather the packaging of the code, some documentation, some custom scripts,
some degree of customer support, and possibly to some degree at least an a
point of contact for the broader community base.  This is a subtle
distinction that I'm not sure is well understood by people used to
purchasing software directly from the developer.

- Wayde
  (wallen at lug.boulder.co.us)