Yeah. They have complete control over what is in Fedora, not merely influence. I track the development branch on several machines here so I am not so disturbed by being a testing ground myself. That seems to be the take-it-or-leave-it deal, and RH are spending the money on it so it is tough to say they are unfair with that. But still it is not a great deal under all circumstances.
Andy,
Machiavelli wrote several centuries ago that "power is never given, it is taken." This continues to be true, even when "taking" means asking nicely. It requires an act of initiative on the part of the taker to step forward. Note:
1. Red Hat, Inc. has made it abundantly clear that they want to open the Fedora development process to a much wider community.
2. They have expressed their intent to create, setup, manage, and pay for the entire management framework which Fedora Linux will need to build cooperatively this newer operating system. They have even apologized publicly on this list for moving more slowly than expected on that score.
3. They have noted that the process would be evolutionary, not revolutionary, in order to cause minimal disruption for users.
4. They have described "the community" for development as those who not only consume, but also contribute for the good of the community.
It seems blindingly obvious to me that it is now *our* turn at bat. Let each of us take the initiative and take some power. Start participating in some part of the devel or doc process, and you will (slowly) be given more power. Eventually it is up to this community to take more control over the devel process. If we do not step up and contribute, then RH will continue to do it themselves. There is no conjecture in this post; it is all fact and public statements.
What's so unfair in that?
Cheers,
-- Rodolfo J. Paiz rpaiz@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx http://www.simpaticus.com
