Jonathan Oxer
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Blog > Distro Summit at the Debian Miniconf at LCA
>> Distro Summit at the Debian Miniconf at LCA
Tue, Jan 9th 2:48pm 2007: Linux
It's been hours and hours since I've done anything stupid in public so it's time for something that could be a bit controversial!
The advent of Ubuntu caused a lot of angst in the Debian project and there's still a fair bit of animosity today, at least among some developers. Now there seems to be something of a well-established gulf between Debian and Ubuntu even though their DNA is so much alike. The disconnect between distros with less in common is even bigger: how often do Debian developers interact with Fedora developers, or Gentoo with OpenSuSE, or whatever? People who attended the very first Debian Miniconf in Brisbane in 2002 will probably remember Rusty's brave talk about what Debian can learn from the Red Hat installer - he says he still hasn't been forgiven for that one!
Even people of Rusty's stature can't get away unscathed when suggesting that maybe we should broaden our horizons a bit and learn from what the "competition" is doing, and I find that very sad.
So I'm going to try something that could work out really well or could turn into a Springeresque chair-throwing session. It's a risk, but I think it's worth it. And the chairs are bolted down.
I've put aside the first couple of sessions on day 2 of Debian Miniconf 6 for a mini "Distro Summit" specifically for the purpose of breaking down walls between projects and fostering understanding and collaboration. The first session is going to be for reps from various distros to stand up and give a 5 minute "why my distro is special" talk, giving a quick overview of the different approaches taken by various projects. The second session will then be available for discussion that comes out of those talks, working on ways that distros and projects can improve collaboration instead of treating each other as The Enemy.
I'll add more information to the schedule as things develop:
miniconf6.debconf.org/schedule
Interested in watching the fun? Then just turn up.
Like to represent your distro in the discussion? Please drop Pasc and myself an email!
It's been hours and hours since I've done anything stupid in public so it's time for something that could be a bit controversial!
The advent of Ubuntu caused a lot of angst in the Debian project and there's still a fair bit of animosity today, at least among some developers. Now there seems to be something of a well-established gulf between Debian and Ubuntu even though their DNA is so much alike. The disconnect between distros with less in common is even bigger: how often do Debian developers interact with Fedora developers, or Gentoo with OpenSuSE, or whatever? People who attended the very first Debian Miniconf in Brisbane in 2002 will probably remember Rusty's brave talk about what Debian can learn from the Red Hat installer - he says he still hasn't been forgiven for that one!
Even people of Rusty's stature can't get away unscathed when suggesting that maybe we should broaden our horizons a bit and learn from what the "competition" is doing, and I find that very sad.
So I'm going to try something that could work out really well or could turn into a Springeresque chair-throwing session. It's a risk, but I think it's worth it. And the chairs are bolted down.
I've put aside the first couple of sessions on day 2 of Debian Miniconf 6 for a mini "Distro Summit" specifically for the purpose of breaking down walls between projects and fostering understanding and collaboration. The first session is going to be for reps from various distros to stand up and give a 5 minute "why my distro is special" talk, giving a quick overview of the different approaches taken by various projects. The second session will then be available for discussion that comes out of those talks, working on ways that distros and projects can improve collaboration instead of treating each other as The Enemy.
I'll add more information to the schedule as things develop:
miniconf6.debconf.org/schedule
Interested in watching the fun? Then just turn up.
Like to represent your distro in the discussion? Please drop Pasc and myself an email!
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