3 ms·

* It's not enough to be better to displace something ubiquitous (as unix like systems are today). You likely have to be orders of magnitude "better". * Do not

* It's not enough to be better to displace something ubiquitous (as unix like systems are today). You likely have to be orders of magnitude "better". * Do not be hostile to your potential users. (The community that formed around Plan 9 as it went open source were quite hostile, there's no need for public beatings just because someone suggests to port X11 to Plan 9 even if it's a bad idea).

presotto 14y ago
You're right. We were assholes. We still are.
davidw 14y ago
> The community that formed around Plan 9 as it went open source were quite hostile I remember at FOSDEM a few years back, there was this Spanish dude and some of his friends, who were frothing-at-the-mouth fans of Plan 9, and, as they became progressively more inebriated in the place where a bunch of us were staying, he kept ranting louder and louder (and more by himself) about the perceived injustices and deficiencies of a world where Linux was more popular than something so beautiful, so elegant, as Plan 9. It was ... a bit disturbing to watch. That kind of passion should be reserved for relationships with other people. I think part of the problem with its diffusion was that it only became free software a decade after Linux, with no clear niche to attack (see: Crossing the Chasm) and make its own.
- jff 14y ago
  I think I know who you're talking about; we have people who get way too excited about Plan 9. Oddly enough, the people who get the most frothy about it often don't run it themselves (the guy you saw, for instance, if I'm guessing correctly).
- mennis 14y ago
  I like how you use "perceived" to modify Linux's deficiencies but "frothing-at-the-mouth" to describe individuals whose perspectives differ from yours. It's just so nicely objective.
  - davidw 14y ago
    Reading comprehension: "perceived" refers to the "injustices of a world ..." in my comment. Also, I've met plenty of people who disagree with me who don't froth at the mouth. For instance, BSD vs Linux used to be a Topic of Debate on the internet, and often the BSD guys would be fairly rational about what they preferred (of course some of them frothed too, just like some of the Linux fans).

presotto 14y ago

You're right. We were assholes. We still are.

davidw 14y ago

> The community that formed around Plan 9 as it went open source were quite hostile I remember at FOSDEM a few years back, there was this Spanish dude and some of his friends, who were frothing-at-the-mouth fans of Plan 9, and, as they became progressively more inebriated in the place where a bunch of us were staying, he kept ranting louder and louder (and more by himself) about the perceived injustices and deficiencies of a world where Linux was more popular than something so beautiful, so elegant, as Plan 9. It was ... a bit disturbing to watch. That kind of passion should be reserved for relationships with other people. I think part of the problem with its diffusion was that it only became free software a decade after Linux, with no clear niche to attack (see: Crossing the Chasm) and make its own.

jff 14y ago
I think I know who you're talking about; we have people who get way too excited about Plan 9. Oddly enough, the people who get the most frothy about it often don't run it themselves (the guy you saw, for instance, if I'm guessing correctly).
mennis 14y ago
I like how you use "perceived" to modify Linux's deficiencies but "frothing-at-the-mouth" to describe individuals whose perspectives differ from yours. It's just so nicely objective.
- davidw 14y ago
  Reading comprehension: "perceived" refers to the "injustices of a world ..." in my comment. Also, I've met plenty of people who disagree with me who don't froth at the mouth. For instance, BSD vs Linux used to be a Topic of Debate on the internet, and often the BSD guys would be fairly rational about what they preferred (of course some of them frothed too, just like some of the Linux fans).