standards?
David Carter
dcarter at datarecall.net
Wed Feb 6 15:43:46 CST 2002
-----<snip of a snip of a reply to a reply> Original Message -----
From:
To: kclug at kclug.org
Sent: Wednesday, February 06, 2002 8:32 AM
Subject: Tridirectional standard
> But, once having a taste of freedom, openess, and the utter
>insanity of a 2/1 (distros/blades-of-grass) ratio, I don't think many will wish
>to return to the intellectual oppression of standards. 8^P
". . . intellectual oppression of standards . . ." Interesting.
Some people feel it important to teach children/youths that some basic rules of society are
essential to a non-self-destructive enjoyment of the freedom available in the U.S.A., and other
reasonably free countries. We teach that appropriate rules that restrict improper (criminal or
reckless) behavior actually maximizes our freedom.
The basic idea is that "total freedom" is anarchy - and history and contemplation inform us that
anarchy is not a good environment to live and work in.
- On the other hand, a small set of "basic values and rules" can, in a society that is not
otherwise bent on self-destruction (via indivudual selfishness and "might makes right" conduct),
promote a reasonably happy and productive community.
I think the same applies to the software community. There are standards of all types - HTML,
communications protocols, etc. It sounds that the proposal for the particular standards being
discussed should be embraced - the community should be able to keep them "basic", not "onerous".
David Carter
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