Re: The case for FreeBSD

Peter Schultz wrote:

> On Feb 7, 2005, at 9:51 AM, Julian H. Stacey wrote:
> 
>> Future similar threads to "Subject: The case for FreeBSD"
>> are probably better started on <advocacy_at_freebsd.org>
>>
> 
> I'm guessing one of the reasons Scott started the thread on this list is 
> because not many people are subscribed to advocacy.
> 
>>
>>> Since it's superbowl sunday,
>>
>>
>>  - Ice Cream Sunday in an extra large bowl to share ?
>>  - Super fast bowling in limited overs cricket at the Oval ?
>>  - American ball game irrelevant to BSD & rest of world ?
>>
>>> take Joe Montana for instance.  If he ....
>>> ... even people who've never
>>> touched a football know who he is.
>>
>>
>> Americans might.   This global mail list is not a `world'
>> list as in USA's wrongly named just national `World Series' ;-)
>>
>>
> 
> In case you didn't realize, there are several Canadian baseball teams.
> 
> Anyway, I didn't say *everyone* knows who Joe Montana is, although your 
> poor snipping job made it look as if I did.  I could have just as well 
> made my point using a superstar from science, such as Albert Einstein, 
> or Blaise Pascal.  These guys stuck their neck out for what they 
> believed to be true, and that's what I think the FreeBSD Foundation 
> needs to do in order to get FreeBSD into the mainstream.
> 
> Does the FreeBSD Foundation believe FreeBSD is ready for the 
> mainstream?  I don't know, but this is the appropriate forum for that 
> kind of discussion, because if FreeBSD is not ready, current is the 
> place to figure out why and what needs to be done to make it ready.
> 
> I've only been down with the cause for around six years, but FreeBSD 
> seems as ready as it'll ever be.  I have no idea how much a modest ad 
> campaign would cost, but it sure seems like the only option to get 
> FreeBSD out into the public mind.
> 
> Pete...
> 

Making FreeBSD ready for the mainstream doesn't happen overnight.  We
don't just wake up one day and decide that we have everything we need,
and the jump on the bandwagon.  Instead, it's a continual process that
involves keeping documentation current and relevant, fixing bugs and
adding features, and promotion.  We do ok at documentation and
features/bugs, sometimes better than at other times, but promotion is
where we lack.  We need to actively seek out new users, and we need to
actively seek out users who want to contribute.  Contributing can be
via technical skills or via more promotion.  We need more people willing
to write weblogs and howto's.  We need more people who can help keep on
top of the bug database.  We need more people who can provide positive
support on mailing lists and newsgroups.  We need more people who can
make intelligent arguments on Slashdot and OSNews.  We need more people
who will write articles and papers and do benchmarks and regression
testing.  That's not to say that we don't already have people filling
these roles, it's to say that we need more.  Take the features that I
wrote about, combine it with what Robert and a few others write about in
response, and turn it into some real advocacy and evangelism.

I know that this probably belongs on the advocacy mailing list, but as 
Peter correctly pointed out, I brought it here to get wider exposure and 
discussion.

Go out and advocate and evangelize.

Scott