questionary - who developes FS/OSS

E L Tonkin py7elt at bath.ac.uk
Thu Jul 26 19:19:27 UTC 2001


Afternoon, 

Here's a press release about this merger in English:
http://www.gmd.de/en/pressemitteilungen.html#Fusion
and their aims/reasons for it:
http://www.gmd.de/en/aims_reasons.html

It didn't leave me particularly clear on any of it. Phrases like "FhG will
not simply integrate GMD into its current structure. FhG is to be
reorganised... the merger is to be implemented during a five years' phase
of convergence" sound to me as though nobody's really made up their minds
on anything yet. Mere quotation of marketspeak and newspaper drivel is
unrevealing. However, Jörg has quite clearly defined the current
situation, unless you have any tangible reason to disagree.

If there is widespread distrust of BerliOS, and this is a problem, how
about getting an FAQ written of peoples' reasons for distrust and FUD,
followed by the responses? 

This is beginning to look like infighting within the German contingent!
;-)

Further, I might add (irritably) that "and my friends think so too" is
never a good way to win an argument. Whoever your friends are. Discussion
by weight of numbers should not be a tendancy of the free software
movement- if your opinion is correct, you should be able to explain it
yourself, logically and rationally. [*]

You were discussing your friends' opinions, which makes it subjective and
therefore justifiable, but not helpful without the supporting facts. 

Cheers,

Em 

[*] Otherwise, it's just another FUD meme.


On Thu, 26 Jul 2001, Bernhard Reiter wrote:

> On Thu, Jul 26, 2001 at 07:23:33PM +0200, schilling at fokus.gmd.de wrote:
> > >From wk at gnupg.org Thu Jul 26 19:06:14 2001
> > >On Thu, 26 Jul 2001 18:18:08 +0200 (MEST), schilling  said:
> > 
> > >> -	The most important one: GMD !=3D Fraunhofer - Full Stop!
> > >What about http://www.heise.de/newsticker/data/lab-23.07.01-004/ :
> 
> > >[Fusion of GMD and Fraunhofer finally settled.  Fraunhofer has
> > > entirely taken over the former GMD]
> > 
> > 1)	Don't trust Press releases that are set up by enemies (FhG in this case)
> > 	I don't want to go into details, but from a legal point of view
> > 	GMD is not jet FhG!
> 
> The webpages of GMD have different information:
> 	http://www.gmd.de/de/presse-archiv/pressekonferenz.html
> 	| Nun sind auch alle juristischen Schritte zur Integration
> 	| der GMD in die Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft vollzogen.
> 
> 	| erwarb die Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft am 11. Juli sämtliche
> 	| Anteile an der Kommanditgesellschaft. Damit ist die rechtliche
> 	| Verschmelzung abgeschlossen.
> 
> [Rough translation: All legal steps of the integration of GMD into
> Frauenhofer are completed. ... Frauenhofer bought all shares of
> the coporation at 11.7.2001. The legal merger is therefore complete.]
> 
> The press release is dates 17.7.2001.
> On GMD/Fokus and the BerliOS pages there are no other information.
> 
> > 2)	This is a discussion triggered by a WIDI poll some days ago.
> > 	If you like to have a fair discussion, you should rather check the
> > 	legal state for this date.
> 
> > >> Just a note: GMD is a non-profit organisation (approved by the German tax=
> > > office)
> > 
> > >There is no GMD anymore.
> > 
> > Right! At the moment we call "GMB Informationstechnik e.V. & Co. KG."
> > Nevertheless, we remain a non-profit organisation and we are not part of
> > Fraunhofer!
> > 
> > The change to the new name has become valid with 20.7.2001 with a publishing
> > in "Bonner Generalanzeiger" (Page 20). As I am replying to a mail from
> > you send at 16.7.2001, you see, that your statements are wrong.
> 
> Okay, the Berlios is now (since 6 days) not part of Frauenhofer anymore
> according to your information.
> This seems to be a good step.
> 
> Anyway, how should we or others know?
> 
> > >>> Nobody in the (German) community trusts BERLIOS, probably due to a gut
> > >>> feelings.
> > 
> > >At least all the folks I know and that are quite some.
> > 
> > So I give you the advice to find better friends. People who make statements
> > like this are no help for the movement.
> 
> Thanks for downgrading all people that Werner 
> (Vice-President of the FSFE Chapter Germany, in the board of GUUG, 
> main architect of GnuPG) knows in Germany which are involved in Free Software.
> As I am also one of these persons I can reassure you that
> a statements like the one above can be perceived as "unfair accusations".
> 
> > >J=F6rg, I didn't want to publish your name because we had a private
> > >conversation.  
> 
> > I believe we should rather
> > not start to fight on personal affairs.
> 
> I agree.
> 
> There are several other reasons why is distrust of BerliOS
> in the Free Software community in Germany.
> We (the FSFE) did not create it.  We merely point it out to you.
> Free Software developers usually have a sixth sense for some
> of the mistakes BerliOS is making.
> 
> 	Bernhard
> 
> -- 
> Professional Service around Free Software                (intevation.net)  
> The FreeGIS Project                                         (freegis.org)
> Association for a Free Informational Infrastructure            (ffii.org)
> FSF Europe                                            	  (fsfeurope.org)
> 

// OLDSIG "All bad art is the result of good intentions." - Oscar Wilde 

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