VA/Andover Complete Merger 123
chrisd sent us the press release and says "Now, it is completely okay to blame every percieved failing of Slashdot on VA. I'd like to say that VA understands that Slashdot only has value so long as it is left free." My comment is the same as always: our editorial independance is legally guaranteed under no matter who owns us. Slashdot will suck just as much as always, and there's nothing anybody can do about it!
Seriously, VA has a bunch of good guys, but the editorial staff is looking forward to not really having much to do with them *grin*.
Re:slashdot guys millionaires? (Score:2)
Hot off the newswire! (Score:2)
Secretly, on February 30, 2000, AOL announced a definitive agreement to acquire VA Linux Systems. Under the terms of the agreement, each share of VA Linux Systems Common Stock outstanding as of the closing of the transaction will be exchanged for 3.1415 shares of AOL Common Stock. The consolidation of the complementary Internet sites (including Aol.com, SourceForge, Linux.com, Themes.org, Playboy.org, Stinkymeat.net, Slashdot.org and Freshmeat.net), creates the Internet's leading destination for Open Source developers and is expected to make AOL cool. Based on data reported in the Linux Journal by the Teletubbies, the combined Open Source developer network is expected to make everybody quite rich.
The acquisition is being accounted for as a purchase as well as increasing the babe-karma for all involved.
Oh well (Score:5)
It seems inevitable to me that some day Linux will no longer be the cool topic it is today. There will be another OS, maybe Hurd, maybe something else, that will be the focus of the adulation and the ecstasy so many of you pour out. But while tastes in operating systems will evolve, we now know that slashdot will not. It's owned by a Linux company. It will be about Linux until it goes off the air.
As long as I get my fix of straight talk and tech, I'll be happy to type slashdot.org in my browser, but I do mourn a little bit the passing of true independence from the site. The slashdot editors may be right that they have editorial independence when it comes to each individual story, but they have yet to flex their purported muscles when it comes to a major topic shift on the site. I wonder how receptive VA would be if CmdrTaco suddenly became infatuated with FreeBSD!
-konstant
Yes! We are all individuals! I'm not!
Re:It already does and always has (Score:1)
Re:whats the deal with Links on Yahoo? (Score:2)
We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars --Oscar Wilde
Concentrate on Promoting more than Demoting. (Score:1)
Editorial Independence (Score:1)
However, I think your protestation of 'legally guarranteed' editorial independence are a bit naive.
Are your funding levels 'legally guarranteed' ?
Are you access to resources 'legally guarranteed' ?
In other words, what politica/economic pressures can be bought to bear on slashdot in order to make it conform to the 'party line'. ?
I suggest that being incorporated into a larger organisation will nearly always result in editorial compromise in one form or another to the interests of the larger body corporate. This may or may not be a good thing, but the pressures will be there, perhaps even socially.
As to whether or not slashdot is weakened by these pressures, or strengthened, time will tell.
To a large degree, if slashdot died tomorrow, its influence will still be felt for years to come. You have changed the face of internet news and journalism and user interaction probably for ever. Congratulations, and I look forward to the new era with interest.
Be careful, you will be judged.
Re:official merger = layoffs? (Score:1)
Slashdot's freedom to Innovate (Score:3)
The entire collection of people that comprise the slashdot crew give this site an overall flavor and style. Just like a recipe, change an ingredient or amount of an existing ingredient and the flavor will change. Sometimes a major change, sometimes just a subtle difference, *cough*DOJ*cough*. For you to assume that Slashdot & VA Linux will always be focused exclusively on Linux is as foolish as assuming that Microsoft will always be focused only on selling Windows versions for the PC market. They both will change to reflect evolutions in taste and market.
I think you would have to admit that it is usually the people involved that make a project or company sucessful, not a singular idea or concept.
Server51 (Score:1)
Ranting aside, if you could make it official one way or another, I wouldn't have to check once a week to see if S51 it still there.
-sb
Re:slashdot guys (Score:5)
While I shouldn't respond to this (heck, I couldn't see it until I lowered my slashdot crap filter), I will.
With my, until now, casual viewings of slashdot over the past 2 years, even I know that they have already given money to the Open Source movement. Although, slashdot is not, per se, a Linux/Open Source site exclusively (hey, they have articles about science and books too, check them out sometime), they have embraced open source in three distinct ways (an example that I can borrow from church):
1. Their Time: The guys at Slashdot have devoted endless hours envangelizing (in a good way) Linux and Open Source in general (not to mention /. coding hours, but we'll get to that next). I am sure their participation in this exercise alone has brought both end users and actual coders to Open Source. Someone might come here because they hear it is a cool site ( despite rumors to the contrary on how much it sucks ), but they leave at least exposed to an idea that is put into active practice on this and other projects maintained by the /. crew. For this they should be given a pat of the back.
2. Their Talents: The /. guys have released the complete source of this site to the world at large under an Open Source license. Many, many hours have gone into created one of the more interactive news sites on the web and the fruits of that labor are available to anyone who is interested. For this, too, they should be given a pat on the back.
Finally, 3. Their Tithes: What was the first thing that these guys did, when they got the Andover money (well, maybe it was second or third, but it was up there)? After paying some of their volunteers, they gave thousands of dollars to the code and groups in the Open Source movement that they had a lot of respect for in the form of the beanie awards [slashdot.org]. Once again, for remembering the community that supports them, they should be given another pat on the back.
For these reasons, your post is way off base, and I am sure you already knew that. I just wanted people reading your post, who didn't understand this (perhaps a first timer) to realize why this is actually flamebait.
Re:slashdot guys (Score:2)
Re:Corporate press and self-censorship. (Score:1)
Re:whats the deal with Links on Yahoo? (Score:1)
I think that either is the person who put that press release together not very informed about the way the Internet works (sites without a www. are still linkable web sites, dammit!) or the press release was prepared in a fancy word processor with broken link logic (i.e. it automatically turns www.something.org into clickable links, but not something.org).
I think that scenario 2 is the most probable.
Re:fixed (Score:1)
Re:The evil Linux empire is complete (Score:1)
"You have done well, Lord Taco... and now I sense you wish to continue your search for young Hemos."
"Yes, my Master..."
Re:Thank you (Score:2)
Re:Editorial independance(?) (Score:1)
Re:Try Again (Score:1)
--
Sharks (Score:1)
Re:Oh well (Score:2)
Re:Thank you (Score:2)
I admit we purposely skipped the Stallman "free software and free sex" story. It was flamebait.
Too bad, we were looking forward to that one, it would have been like a shark feeding frenzy.
Re:Editorial Independence (Score:2)
In slashdot's defense, I think if anything systems reliability has gone up since the move , as far as editorial quality, I'll tlet you take that up with Rob and Hemos and such. But I'll say that I think that Slashdot is still pretty great.
Chris DiBona
--
Grant Chair, Linux Int.
Pres, SVLUG
Re:The evil Linux empire is complete (Score:1)
Well, OK, it doesn't. But still....
--
An Inside Perspective (Score:2)
First let me say that what I am about to say is my own personal opinion. I didn't "check it" with anyone here to make sure it was "politically correct." This is how I honestly feel. So here goes.
No matter how much good you try to do, there will always be some people for whom it is never enough. There will also always be people who suspect that you have alterior motives. And that's okay. A healthy skepticism is never a bad thing. But I can assure you that some of the most skeptical members of the community, and the harshest critics of actions which don't benefit Linux as a whole, work at VA! The employees of VA are members of the Linux community just like the rest of you; we haven't lost that focus and mindset.
So why did we buy Andover? Well, I'm not on the executive staff, so I can't say for certain what all the reasons are. But I do know the people running VA, and I know the people running Slashdot. I can say two things with 100% certainty. CmdrTaco and Hemos would never tolerate anyone exercising editorial control over Slashdot, no matter who it was. They would sooner jump ship and go elsewhere. And I know that no one at VA would want to harm Slashdot by trying to assert any such control over it. We all like Slashdot just the way it is. (Many of us read it at *least* daily.) Slashdot is a great community site; CmdrTaco and Hemos need to stay right where they are and keep doing what they've been doing so well for so long.
We will always have our critics like Bowie. There will be people who will misinterpret our actions and hold grudges and continue to flame us ad nauseum at every opportunity. We accept that as part of existing in such a dynamic, diverse, vocal community. We wouldn't change that even if we could. Those people are welcome to their opinions as always. We will continue to work hard at doing the best job we can for our customers and for the Linux community as a whole.
When Linux wins, VA Linux wins. And when VA Linux wins, Linux wins. That's how it has been since the early 90's, and everyone at VA is committed to making sure it will always be that way.
Corporations in the Media (Score:1)
Lenny
P.S. That was a pretty good offer you got from VA. Furthermore, since Andover.net has little chance of becoming profitable in the near future, VA's support can sustain it for longer than it could sustain itself. So, maybe this is a good thing.
OT:Corporate press and self-censorship. (Score:1)
You may not have been in DC or Seattle to witness first hand - I was in DC. Let me offer the most salient first hand observation: THEY STUNK!!
AC #2 writes:
I really doubt you have any idea why the IMF protestors were protesting. Check out the links on this page.
As it happens, I spoke with a number of of the folks who were protesting me at the biotechnology conference in Boston a few months ago. I was less struck by their smell (actually, my impression was that they must spend hours working on their hair to get that "casually" frizzy look!) than by their smug self-righteousness and utter ignorance of the topic about which they were demonstrating. They spray-painted graffiti all over the sidewalks (still here if anyone doubts me) and, after the police failed to give them the riot they wanted, threw paint-filled balloons at the Longfellow Bridge.
And, AC #2, if you want to impress me, show me sites that indicate you've considered multiple sides of the issues, not your source of the party line.
Editorial independance(?) (Score:1)
Re:VA is a nice and friendly, cuddly company? No. (Score:2)
Howdy. Normally, I dont reply to flames, but i'll give you a chance.
A) First of all, I never claimed to have invented SourceForge, nor write it. However, the premise behind the project, and even its name were taken from conversations between Trae McCombs and I between May and July of '99. We were building a material stockpile, the idea being, to give developers development space as a thank-you for using our gear. The ultimate goal being that we as a group would be an asset to VA once we managed to round up enough projects/developers. We were promised employment if we delivered 500,000 pageviews a day, sustained for 6 months. In May of '99, I agreed to go into it for the long haul. 1-2 years, I figured. A co-lo machine was set aside for us to use shortly thereafter (early June 99).
If the old themes.org was still around, I could even point you to an interview I did with none other than Trae McCombs himself way back in early 1998 where the idea was discussed. I'd been wanting to do this sort of thing for years -- And when I finally got the chance to do it, guess who was there to rip me off.
B) I dont need any more "credit", and I dont need any more "ego boost". I've had my share. Besides, if I wanted that, I'd keep flogging the Propaganda horse every few weeks. I'm quite happy doing absolutely nothing for free now, thank you.
The "phantom documents" you're referring to exist, and as I pointed out, you're welcome to read them. Email me. It's an email between BSI and Andover.net's reps..One of the people who I worked with on System 12, her father was an exec at Andover.net in Canada. If you want to the gory details, I didn't believe her at first when she told me that Rob and the others were in the process of selling out. I demanded she come up with proof, and she did, via her father. Thats how I came to posess the email. (Rob knows this, by the way. Sent him a copy of it not too long ago.)
You can believe what you want to believe. Its a weird story, and alot of people aren't really comfortable thinking about an entity like VA might be something other than friendly to the Linux community. Like you, I used to think VA was great. I was a big flag-waver for them. Originally, I even refused to believe I got screwed. I thought it was a simple duplication of effort, and bowed out to prevent the public from viewing our project as a thorn in VA's side. All that's well and good, but telling me to "quit ranting" is pretty weak. Take a look at the facts involved, and perhaps you'll see past the crap and speculation and get to the root of it. I had to.
Just keep one thing in mind. I had the responsibility of leading 11 people for 6 months, and I took that responsibility very seriously. I was promised alot of things by someone who wasn't in a position to make any promises, all of which never came to fruition. Getting screwed the way we did, you'd think I'd have a right to be pissed.
Duty now,
Bowie J. Poag
Corporate press and self-censorship. (Score:4)
When I was in Washington D.C. for the A16 actions against the IMF/World Bank, some activists from England and I had a conversation with a journalist from some corporate newspaper (I forget which). The argument was over self-censorship, the fact that most journalists know where their bread is buttered and are never censored because they know to never write an article which merits censorship.
Now, the journalist insisted that he had full freedom of the press, and could write an article on anything he wanted without getting fired (He did admit that it's very possible that the editors wouldn't print it).
I told him to challenge the assumption that he had complete freedom under the totalitarian structure of his workplace. I asked him to dig up a story on the parent company or a majority stockholder of his newspaper. Something really incriminating, which is easy since so many large corporations are involved in criminal activity.
If he got the article printed, then I would concede the argument to him, but if it got censored, or if he felt repurcussions for challenging the authority of his workplace, then I win.
His response? Something to the effect of "Well, I don't need to test my boundaries, because I already know that I have no boundaries."
Thus, we have self-censorship.
Michael Chisari
mchisari@usa.net
Re:VA is a nice and friendly, cuddly company? No. (Score:2)
Howdy. Normally, I dont reply to flames, but i'll give you a chance.
A) First of all, I never claimed to have invented SourceForge, nor write it. However, the premise behind the project, and even its name were taken from conversations between Trae McCombs and I between May and July of '99. We were building a material stockpile, the idea being, to give developers development space as a thank-you for using our gear. The ultimate goal being that we as a group would be an asset to VA once we managed to round up enough projects/developers. We were promised employment if we delivered 500,000 pageviews a day, sustained for 6 months. In May of '99, I agreed to go into it for the long haul. 1-2 years, I figured. A co-lo machine was set aside for us to use shortly thereafter (early June 99).
If the old themes.org was still around, I could even point you to an interview I did with none other than Trae McCombs himself way back in early 1998 where the idea was discussed. I'd been wanting to do this sort of thing for years -- And when I finally got the chance to do it, guess who was there to rip me off.
B) I dont need any more "credit", and I dont need any more "ego boost". I've had my share. Besides, if I wanted that, I'd keep flogging the Propaganda horse every few weeks. I'm quite happy doing absolutely nothing for free now, thank you.
The "phantom documents" you're referring to exist, and as I pointed out, you're welcome to read them. Email me. It's an email between BSI and Andover.net's reps..One of the people who I worked with on System 12, her father was an exec at Andover.net in Canada. If you want to the gory details, I didn't believe her at first when she told me that Rob and the others were in the process of selling out. I demanded she come up with proof, and she did, via her father. Thats how I came to posess the email. (Rob knows this, by the way. Sent him a copy of it not too long ago.)
You can believe what you want to believe. Its a weird story, and alot of people aren't really comfortable thinking about an entity like VA might be something other than friendly to the Linux community. Like you, I used to think VA was great. I was a big flag-waver for them. Originally, I even refused to believe I got screwed. I thought it was a simple duplication of effort, and bowed out to prevent the public from viewing our project as a thorn in VA's side. All that's well and good, but telling me to "quit ranting" is pretty weak. Take a look at the facts involved, and perhaps you'll see past the crap and speculation and get to the root of it. I had to.
Just keep one thing in mind, tho. I had the responsibility of leading 11 people for 6 months, and I took that responsibility very seriously. I was promised alot of things by someone who wasn't in a position to make any promises, all of which never came to fruition. Getting screwed the way we did, you'd think I'd have a right to be pissed.
Duty now,
Bowie J. Poag
Re:official merger = layoffs? (Score:2)
There might be some benefit in consolidating ad sales between the various web sites run by Andover and VA, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was little overlap even there.
For those who are curious, CmdrTaco gets $90k a year and Slashdot's previous owners (mainly him) got $ 1.5 million up front, $ 6 million when certain targets were met. I'm not sure what the targets were, but they do have a hefty amount of Andover stock that is now VA stock.
So Rob's doing pretty well considering that he's in the Midwest someplace. $ 1 million or so still goes a long way anywhere in the US outside of California, New York or Hawaii.
D
----
Re:slashdot guys (Score:1)
I can't tell you how much this assumption bothers me. Currently, I'm overdrawn in my bank account by about $150. I don't own stock, I've never owned stock, and I haven't gotten rich off of the Linux hype. People should stop assuming that if you're a Slashdot Author, you're loaded. :)
--Emmett
Don't be hard on yourselves.. (Score:4)
Have faith, guys. I'm sure you'll suck much better from now on.
--
Wanna hook MAPI clients to your Tru64/AIX/Linux server?
Re:Here's a (stupid) idea (Score:1)
Re:Proposed remedy to /. dominance (Score:1)
This has nothing to do w/ the DOJ atack, or the merger, Rob just wants a change of scenery...
-Earthman
Re:whats the deal with Links on Yahoo? (Score:2)
Re:Corporate press and self-censorship. (Score:1)
Your logic seems to be this: Since large corporations can be assumed to be involved in "really incriminating criminal activity", any media outlet not reporting its own "really incriminating criminal activity" is obviously subject to self-censorship.
Hey, I'll go that line of reasoning one further. Since media outlets aren't reporting each other's "really incriminating criminal activity" either, there's a massive global censorship conspiracy going on!
This isn't changing my perception of the IMF protesters as a bunch of ignorant, self-righteous loudmouths trying to get themselves on TV.
taking over sealand (Score:2)
Roblimo's radio intelligence background, Emmett's phone-calling persistence and all 4 of my family's cats will come in handy as we complete this project.
Michael and Jamie will be running interference, along with CowboyNeal, who will be fanning pigeons off the beach in a subplot borrowed from some movie he saw once. We're not stopping him, and it does make for good press.
We hope in the end to get bunks in the royal homestead and heritable titles, so any girlfriends can one day be genyooine princesses. Also, all the swimming we want.
timothy
Re:It already does and always has (Score:2)
It has one or two FreeBSD boxes...
Re:VA has a History of Prejudice against Muslims (Score:1)
Background, please...
t_t_b
--
Re:slashdot guys (Score:1)
Re:suck = time (Score:1)
Anyway, this means it's been sucking for a long time. Perhaps it's now just intolerably noticeable?
Thank you (Score:2)
Slashdot has changed because the staff has changed and the industry has changed and will continue to change. I just think it's funny how some people see a milestone and think it is a gravestone. Like that Salon columnist, Andrew-whats-his-name, who lamented the death of Slashdot when the VA/Andover deal was first announced. That was months ago and Slashdot is still here and more popular than ever.
I like how Andy Rooney said it at the closing of one of his bits on "60 Minutes": ...and for those of you who wrote me and said you'd never watch 60 Minutes again, we'll see you here again next week, same time, same channel. *grin*
Re:Editorial independance(?) (Score:1)
(it sure beats the CGA card I had for it before, and it plays Lightspeed in VGA!!)
I've been on slashdot easily since before logins, but I don't think I've been on there as long as FinkPloyd, so I hope he's got at least an EGA card lying around. (so he can play Tangled Tales! Rock on!)
And yes, this is proof that slashdot will continue to suck at the regular downward spiral. This merger is probably what MEEPT was talking about, before he went insane or got abducted by his home planet. (read his posts lately, geez...)
---
pb Reply or e-mail; don't vaguely moderate [ncsu.edu].
Re:Editorial independance(?) (Score:2)
Re:Thank you (Score:1)
Re:Hot off the newswire! (Score:1)
Re:Thank you (Score:1)
I admit we purposely skipped the Stallman "free software and free sex" story. It was flamebait.
--
Michael Sims-michael at slashdot.org
slashdot guys (Score:1)
ERiAN
-
Re:Proposed remedy to /. dominance (Score:1)
As part of a further clarification it was revealed that the "." part of Slash Dot . org would be an independent company which would compete with Sun in its monopoly on the "." in ". com
Cool hardware on it's way? (Score:1)
VA is a nice and friendly, cuddly company? No. (Score:2)
Fact: If VA was interested in philanthropy, they would have left Andover.Net alone and simply given money to Slashdot and Freshmeat to allow them to continue running. They didn't do that. Why? They wanted control over the resources provided to the Linux community, and paid millions to get it.
Fact: VA Linux Systems originally attempted to purchase both Freshmeat and Slashdot in late spring/early summer '99. If someone wants proof of this, email me privately, and i'll provide you with it. Their offer was refused due to contract conditions VA wanted, and refused to exclude in order to complete the deal. This is why Slashdot and Freshmeat ended up under Andover.net's umbrella. As a result, VA Linux Systems immediately began work on trying to replicate both resources.
Fact: VA's post-IPO cash allowed them to aquire Andover.net, and their holdings -- Once the purchase became imminent, construction on one or more projects (ColdStorage, VA's Freshmeat clone among them) were halted.
For those of you who haven't been following what I've been saying for the past 7 months or so, several of VA's employees then began cannibalizing volunteer projects like mine, looking for more things to replicate. What began as community property became increasingly centered on generating profit.
Result: All of us would be well-served by keeping at least a healthy suspicion of VA. The sad part about the whole Linux movement is, that when you get down to it, VA and companies like them don't care about you. They don't have to care. They're going to do everything within their power to screw their way into the black and keep the board of directors happy, just like any other publically held business.
My bet is, if you think this "merger" will affect nothing, you're probably going to be wrong. First of all, despite what Chris DiBonehead has said in the past (and will probably continue to say) this isn't a merger. VA Linux Systems purchased Andover.net outright. Gobbled up and absorbed, just as their SEC filing points out. VA and Andover.net didn't join hands in a feild of flowers and go skipping off into the sunset. One ate the other.
Keep your ears up and your eyes open, and make up your own mind based on the facts. There's a wealth of it out there. "Quit bitching, Bowie" is nice, but, I gain nothing by pointing out why people should not trust this company. I simply just want people to be aware of what I've seen, after having worked in and among the company for nearly two years.
On the other hand, you'll likely also hear the opinion(s) of one or more employees of VA, at least one whom is a paid mouthpiece of the company, speaking without "editorial independence". Hi, Chris.
Duty Now,
Bowie J. Poag
Editorial Independence (Score:3)
Why would a company such as VA spend $900 _million_ for a company that _lost_ $3 million last year, if they're truly not going to try and influence the stories covered?
Call me a pessimist, but as far as I've seen, the only reason a company spends such a ludicrous amount of money is when it expects to profit greatly from the venture. If Andover isn't making money - and a very questionable potential to do so - and they won't gain via propaganda, why would they do something so rediculous?!? I don't think that fostering the linux/geek community is worth nearly one _billion_ dollars.
I've yet to see anyone from VA or andover attmpt to quell my fears over that complaint. While there are various ways to explain the complaints of myself and many others who think that slashdot's quality has degraded since the andover buyout (not that I don't still love this site one hell of a lot), yet it's hard not to conclude that it's very likely that was _the_ cause.
Re:VA is a nice and friendly, cuddly company? No. (Score:2)
Again, since you can't seem to remember, VA has been hosting projects since 1996 or so, and we wanted to do a better job of it. So we came up with sourceforge. And anyhow, just coming up with an idea means noting if you don't follow through. You didn't, we did. You talk about the 11 people, tell us what they did, show us the code.I'd love to hear from them.
B) Post the documents. Bring it on.
And I'm sorry you had such a bad time with Trae, and nothing I can say will change if you are pissed or not, I just want the slashdot readers to hear both sides in this story. And you have some nerve calling it a flame considering the flamethrower you've been pointing around.
Chris DiBona
VA Linux Systems
--
Grant Chair, Linux Int.
Pres, SVLUG
Congratulations. (Score:1)
Thanks for doing this, and you got your wish and got to do this for a living (remembrance of statement you made a long time ago)
nerdfarm.org [nerdfarm.org]
Re:slashdot guys (Score:1)
--
Michael Sims-michael at slashdot.org
official merger = layoffs? (Score:4)
Regardless, good luck!
- tokengeekgrrl
"The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions
Re:Oh well (Score:1)
maybe they wanted
Figure the odds. . . (Score:1)
suck = time (Score:4)
Just so that everyone can complain together, can we agree that Slashdot officially started to suck immediately after this story was posted? Just for everyone to get their time lines synced.
Re:Excessive bolding. (Score:1)
I've nothing to add, just wanted to draw your attention to the Preview button, right beside the Submit button. It helps you focus on the doodah's before stepping into them.
Stefan.
"...Microsoft follows standards. In much the same manner that fish follow migrating caribou." "Now I have this image in my mind of a fish embracing and extending a caribou." -- Paul Tomblin and Christian Bauernfeind in the SDM
Re:slashdot guys (Score:1)
Well, would be cool if they actually did pay the money. The GIMP developers crew is still waiting for their money from the Beanie Award. Last week we had a developers conference and we would have urgently needed the money for this purpose. Thankfully the FSF generously supported us. And, yes, we actually tried to get the money. Andover as well as VA Linux didn't reply to any mail we've sent so far.
Re:Offtopic - Neil Stephenson story not on front p (Score:1)
Unrelated story... (Score:3)
Microsoft asked the Department of Justice today to investigate monopolistic techniques used by Va Linux Systems to take over the Linux Market.
"We don't think it's fair! Microsoft is suppose to rule all operating systems", one employee commented.
If Microsoft is successful the Linux Community would be split up into 3 catagories. Newbies, Troll's and Guru's. Linux must also become closed source to ensure that they don't grow any more in size.
RMS was seen crying outside of his home earlier while Alan Cox was seen holding a shot gun and repeatly threating to blow up Microsoft. He since has been taken into protective custody.
###
Now... (Score:1)
Re:Proposed remedy to /. dominance (Score:1)
Of course! With Andover behind them, they'll have no trouble taking over Sealand!
Re:VA is a nice and friendly, cuddly company? No. (Score:2)
Chris, you weren't even there. How the hell could you even have a "version of events" ?
The only thing you know is what you've gleaned from your fellow VA employees, after the fact, and months after we closed shop. Hardly what I'd call first-hand knowledge. Nice try, tho.
To address your A)...
Yes, I claim I came up with the basic premise for the project and the name "SourceForge". FYI, I wrote zero code. My job was to manage the project, not to code it. Scott and Seth were brought on for that purpose in late '99 once Propaganda was squared away.
During the months of April thru June of '99, Trae McCombs and I had a series of rather long telephone conversations. Many of these conversations involved discussions of things we were going to do/were doing, and many sessions revolved around trying to come up with a name for the project. I remember quite clearly proposing the name "SourceForge", "MediaForge", and other *Forge variants. I also remember Trae saying he didn't like the word "Forge". Then whammo, 5 months later, here comes a project called "SourceForge". How the hell do you explain that one? Infinite monkeys and typewriters? Come on. I'm tempted to post telephone records from that period.. you still have a problem believing me.
I could honestly care less if they took the name, in particular. Its their refusal to be honest about it that pisses me off. Dont even get me started on the other crap.
And now, for B)
No, I will not post the documents publically. The documents which refer to BSI (Jeff, Rob and others) and Andover.net's dealings do not belong in a public forum. They are private emails. Since I dont have permission from the parties involved to post it publically, i'm not going to. Anyone who wants to read it is welcome to email me privately. Its just not going to go up here.
Have a swell day,
Bowie J. Poag
"editorial staff"? does that mean trained mammals? (Score:2)
with the now complete support of the VA/Andover behemoth, will there be more trained monkeys to prod and poke at the submissions and get them up more quickly?
Re:!!! (Score:1)
It is redundant.
After many thousands of real and attempted first posts it is very redundant.
Re:slashdot guys (Score:1)
Although, I would not mind being a paper millionare either.... Much easier to get loans when your net worth is $$$$$$$
Re:Editorial independance(?) (Score:2)
-russ
Re:Oh well (Score:2)
I have seen the future, and it's name is Plan 9 [kuro5hin.org]. :-)
--
whats the deal with Links on Yahoo? (Score:1)
It does Einstein! (Score:1)
A Modest Proposal (Score:1)
--
Re:Oh well (Score:2)
independence (Score:1)
ya know, Linux has the 'look' command which is ideal for this kind of thing
Re:Editorial independance(?) (Score:3)
True but untold story: the plan was for me to do hardly anything but submission bin reading and culling for at least the first month. This is how we started Emmett and Timothy, and it's the right way to bring someone new into Slashdot, with a chance to acclimate and fit into the mold before actually posting stories. I was only supposed to take some of the load off of Rob and Jeff, who had been running this site without a break and hardly even a day off for over two years at that point, not take over the whole thing.
But things got screwed up because the geek compound lost power and phone service the day after the Andover acquisition due to some horrible weather in Holland, and I was the only person around who had an author's login and could reach the server. For the next few days it looked like I (and therefore Andover) had totally taken control of Slashdot. Nobody wanted things to be that way. We all cringed at the way it looked, and I endured a lot of abuse over it, but there was no real choice.
Now we've got Timothy and Emmett going full time and doing a great job, plus Jamie and Cliff and Michael and Nik and Jim and others kicking in as often as they can, so I've settled into my "real" role, which is to spend most of my time making sure Slashdot and freshmeat remain free of editorial influence from marketdroids, advertisers, and PR people (including ours), and to do my best to fend off attacks from the RIAA, MPAA, Microsoft, the courts, and anyone else who comes along and thinks they, not you or Rob Malda or Jeff Bates, have a right to decide what does and does not belong on this site.
- Robin
Re:!!! (Score:1)
Try Again (Score:1)
MP3 is the current rage (Score:1)
Since "it's all over except the shouting" as far as Linux dominance is concerned, the new rage is MP3 and the peer-to-peer networks that are scaring the RIAA and MPAA.
And beyond that? Maybe the multicasting revolution?
Re:official merger = layoffs? (Score:1)
You just made my day.
Re:Thank you (Score:2)
But I like Andy Leonard just fine, and I think everybody else around Slashdot does too. He's a pretty good guy and a good reporter; spells the names right, is unbiased (which means he shares *our* biases), and all that.
- Robin
Not yet. (Score:2)
So it sounds like the last details have been agreed to, but the final stock conversion hasn't happened just yet.
Re:VA is a nice and friendly, cuddly company? No. (Score:3)
Fact: We did give a lot of money and machines early on to slashdot before the andover purchase of /.. And we gave machines to everything2 (which is still owned by BSI). We give machines away all the time to groups, see kernel.org, linuxfromscratch and all the rest.
Fact: Show your proof, let's see it. IF it's real, it's a surprise. My conversation with rob when I heard about the andover thing was "So , do you want us to get in the mix on this." , his answer was no, so I dropped it.
Fact: Coldstorage was intended to be and became what sourceforge is, we jsut didn't like the coldstorage name. We knew there would be some freshmeat crossover, but they are very different sites. Big deal.
How can we cannabilize your volunteer project,?why did you stop? Was it because we "made" you stop? Or is it because you were not committed enough to finish? Even if we hadn't offered space and machinery for what you told us was going to be a gtk widget repository, why did you stop? You stopped, we didn'ty get in your way. Fact is we can't make -you- do anything, and we're not interested in having anyone stop giving back to linux. If you have such a big problem with us, go set up your own thing somewhere else. It's my impression you'd rather bitch about it.
Result: Keep your suspicison of VA, I'm fine with that. VA did purchase Andover, duh, when there is a merger whoever is bigger is by default the aquisitioner. As far as to whether we "ate" anyone, that's just stupid, in the adult world, people only merge when they want to.
As far as beinga paid mouthpiece, I am the person who comments on slashdot. That doesn't mean I lack ethics. My job is so much more than responding to this kind of bullshit.
Bowie, you have this vision of VA that is incorrect, it's too bad you can't see that. So, yes, I hope people keep both eyes and ears open, because then they will see how VA is not simply explointing linux like so many. I'd like to point out the bandwidth that we cover and hardware costs of sourceforge, and the public service mission of linux.com, or the many machines we gave away last year to projects big and small. Or the largest Friends and Family program that went off without trouble, benefitting a -great- number of developers.
Finally, VA does care, and not just because it has it (there are a number of very good business reasons to care), but because it wants to. We didn't get into linux just last year, or even just 5 years ago, we started in 1993 when everyone knew -everyone- who was in linux. And we were helping out back then, too.
We were there for people getting them hardware and stuff back when we were barely making payroll. Why? Because it was the right thing to do. Even now when VA is growing by a huge amount, we help out whenever we can. Because that is our duty, and we ake it very seriously.
Chris DiBona
VA Linux Systems
--
Grant Chair, Linux Int.
Pres, SVLUG
Re:VA is a nice and friendly, cuddly company? No. (Score:2)
--
Grant Chair, Linux Int.
Pres, SVLUG
The evil Linux empire is complete (Score:2)
Re:slashdot guys all millionaires now? (Score:2)
Re:slashdot guys (Score:2)
and Andover.Net, dated as of June 18, 1999, Andover.Net purchased those assets
of BlockStackers relating to the Slashdot.org web site for 1.5 million in cash
paid at closing and maximum future cash payments of $3.5 million payable over
the next two years contingent on the continued employment of two key employees.
Maximum future stock consideration of $7.0 million is payable over a period of
two years following this offering. "
$1.5 million in cash does not a paper millionaire make.
Re:VA is a nice and friendly, cuddly company? No. (Score:2)
Really, Trae and you had a conversation , that's fine, if you look at our previous discussion on slashdot, I'm fine with that, but that doesn't change the fact that I did not and certainly the sf guys did not knwo what you were working on or what name you chose.
And I chose the name, if you did too, great, but I registered the damn thisng and I came up with it. I also registered other names in the event we didn't like it, including sourceanvil and the rest.
What kills me is your assertion that if you came up with teh idea for sourceforge, why did you tell trae that it was a gtk widget repository? That's all I heard. So get over yourself.
So for B) you in fact don't have anything you are willign to post, but I realyl don't thikn you have anything. What I do know is -my- conversation with Rob. I already noted it. Whatever you have is either complete deal bullshit (you know "you'll have to give us a good price, as we're talking with other buyers) or you do not have it.
Chris DiBona
--
Grant Chair, Linux Int.
Pres, SVLUG
Re:Cool hardware on it's way? (Score:2)
Re:Cool hardware on it's way? (Score:2)
Chris
--
Grant Chair, Linux Int.
Pres, SVLUG
Re:suck = time (Score:2)
leave it to beaver - beave goes through puberty
happy days - pinky tuscadero (fonzie jumps the shark tank)
bewitched - dick york is replaced
dream of jeanie - Maj. Nelson and Jeanie get married
M*A*S*H - Hotlips starts being likeable or when they stopped using the laughtrack
3's company - (you mean it didn't always suck!?) when the ropers get their own show and are replaced by Don Knotts, or when Suzanne Sommers leaves the show... take your pick
jumptheshark.com [jumptheshark.com]
Re:VA has a History of Prejudice against Muslims (Score:2)
Chris
--
Grant Chair, Linux Int.
Pres, SVLUG
Re:Server51 (Score:2)
This isn't official, but I think it's pretty close. Robin Miller knows the full story and will probably post.
Chris DiBona
VA Linux Systems
--
Grant Chair, Linux Int.
Pres, SVLUG
Re:Server51 (Score:2)
It's sort of sad; scoop put a lot of heart into Server51. But now he and his gang can devote their full energy to freshmeat. I don't know if you've noticed, but freshmeat is now updated 24/7, not just when scoop has time, it has editorials every Saturday, and is generally getting bigger and better a little at a time, week after week.
- Robin
Proposed remedy to /. dominance (Score:5)
Slash: News for nerds
Dot: Stuff that matters
org: Hot Grits
A press release from CmdrTaco claims that they are cooperating with the Justice Department, but do not feel that criticism of their business as monopolistic is warranted. As competition in each of their major areas, Taco cited Kuro5hin [kuro5hin.org], the American Civil Liberties Union [aclu.org], and the work of Jesustussinheadface [xoom.com].
Re:slashdot guys (Score:2)
Taco's take was (feel free to correct me. I know you will) pegged at about 6 million due to the sale to Andover.
Oh well, maybe he can shop the sales, and there's always coupons to clip...
Re:slashdot guys (Score:2)