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That's arguably the same way the United States came into being: People didn't like the way the current closed system was being done, so they decided to fork a n
by mcav 16y ago
That's arguably the same way the United States came into being: People didn't like the way the current closed system was being done, so they decided to fork a new government and invite everyone to contribute.
- mitjak 16y agoAnd then it all became too popular, they sold out, made it proprietary, and became what they were running away from. EDIT: Sorry, thought I'm in the iPhone is too closed thread.
- KC8ZKF 16y agoWell, not quite everyone. White male property owners.
- Legion 16y agoIt wouldn't be open source without license disagreements.
- carbocation 16y agoThat's pithy and funny, but not really fair to most of the Founders. Akhil Amar's biography of the Constitution gives a readable refutation of that concept.
- KC8ZKF 16y agoHe doesn't really refute the concept as much as he suggests the system was better than others at the time.
- carbocation 16y agoIn his lectures, at least, he argues not only that the system was better than others at the time, but also that the founders designed it in a far more democratic way than people give them credit for in retrospect. Perhaps this was not emphasized in the book; it's been awhile since I read it.
- moultano 16y agoIt is a very difficult thing to argue for the correct amount of credit to give a historical figure. I respect anyone who tries.
- thunk 16y agoExcept the Native Americans.
- techiferous 16y agoI just read Black Elk Speaks which gives a glimpse into the U.S. government's interactions with the Lakota Indians in the late 1800s. Very sad. A turning point was when gold was discovered in the Black Hills. Even the government couldn't keep the gold prospectors out of the Indian's land and inevitable conflicts arose. (It serves as a good reminder that when we are chasing our startup dreams we should be careful that we are not inadvertently dashing the dreams of others.) There are still some Lakota Indians who want the original treaties with the U.S. to be honored and wish to establish their own Republic of Lakotah: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Lakotah http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Lakotah
- percept 16y agoThere's a similar side-story in an excerpt here: http://books.google.com/books?id=6NSubUPZYxcC&printsec=frontcover&dq=blank+spots+on+the+map&cd=1#v=onepage&q=okaadaka&f=false http://books.google.com/books?id=6NSubUPZYxcC&printsec=f... [Once there, click the page link to expand for reading]