On Fri, 2007-05-18 at 00:03 +0200, Matej Cepl wrote: > On 2007-05-17, 17:08 GMT, Ric Moore wrote: > > It could happen that there are users that have no business > > messing with anything and we'd all be properly grateful that > > they don't. <g> But a "should" puts the onus of active > > participation on them and then they do. Which results in > > a batch of emails to the list to remedy a blown up system. > > THEN, after much grief for everyone, they leave to freshly > > install Ubuntu or SuSe and claim it is SO much better, as it "works", > > out of the box. Sure it does, they haven't screwed with it yet. > > I still think they SHOULD help, but note that I have put there > money as an option how to help. As one of my American friends > said ``With the invention of money, phrase `Thank you' lost its > meaning.'' ;-) > > > Plus, a newbie needs to have the space to actually use and > > become familiar with Linux, before anyone can expect them to > > actually be grateful for anything and appreciate it. I think it > > would be better to leave the moral "shoulds" at the door. So, > > Mauriat might have been asking "Must I?" in a completely > > different light, as I have outlined. The basic "morality play" > > of the Linux Religion becomes more apparent with exposure and > > use. :) > > Of course, and I forgot that this is the list where even not-Red > Hat employees and somebody else than hard-code Linux geeks could > happen. No, I mean there is of course almost unlimited tolerance > for people to learn, and yes this whole stuff is free and there > are really no strings attached. Visible or invisible. Just go, > use it and have a fun. > > However, there is somewhere in the back of my mind that ``Freely > you have received, freely give.'' (Matthew 10:8) I mean, I don't > except from anybody to help, they are under no obligation > whatsoever (neither legal nor moral) to do anything, but for me > this verse was one of the reasons why I spend so much time on > helping Linux community in past ten years. I agree with you whole-heartedly. 100%. The newbies will come around to that perspective as well, as they "witness" the contributions (acts) of others and learn of "Gift Debt" as a method of free-exchange. But if it is forced or expected (as in a "Should") , then it is no longer a gift nor "Free", as in the spirit of your quote from in Matthew 10:8. Thus it was in the beginning and thus it is now, Linux is free to anyone of any ability. It's not, however, "Free Beer" as there is a measure of Faith inherent among us all that others will provide as they can. I thank the Creator that he created people smarter than me. :) Rev. Ric --
