[PREV - SIDES_OF_THE_COIN]    [TOP]

FUN_WITH_IDEOLOGY

   "Quite frankly, I don't _want_ people using Linux for
   ideological reasons.  I think ideology sucks. This world
   would be a much better place if people had less ideology,
   and a whole lot more 'I do this because it's FUN and
   because others might find it useful, not because I got
   religion'."

      -- Linus Torvalds (torvalds@transmeta.com) on
         the linux-kernel list, 2002-04-20


                       From other postings
                       by him, you can see
        So this        that Torvalds clearly        Of course, there's
        quote          has something like an        another interpretation
        isn't          ideology going, here         of all this babbling
        as fun         he's just using it as        about how FUN it is:
        a place        a snarl-word.  It's
        to start       an "I have ideas, you            Tom Sawyer and
        as I'd         have ideology" kind              the white fence.
        wanted.        of thing.


                           (He's not consistent about his
                           anti-ideology ideology, as is
                           perhaps appropriate.)


  A case study on the virtues
  and vices of ethical systems.           SIDES_OF_THE_COIN


  Richard Stallman stays the course; he finds ways
  to get closer to the goal even when it seems hopeless.

  But his rigidity even in small matters annoys
  many people; he has a reputation for being
  difficult to work with.


  Linus Torvalds, on the other
  hand is a man with a knack
  for getting people to work
  for him happily, without
  obvious reward.  They praise
  him for his "diplomacy".

  But there's a danger that some
  day his lack of commitment to
  explicit principle might lead      (Arguably the adoption
  him astray (or make it easy to     of the proprietary
  wander astray).                    Bitkeeper for linux
                                     development is an
                                     example of this).


          "And I have always thought that
           idealistic people are
           interesting, but kind of boring
           and sometimes scary."
               -p. 165, "Just for Fun"




--------
[NEXT - THE_THEORY_OF_CONSPIRACY]