Re: [tlug] Re: Alan Cox's remark at Fosdem

[Martin Bähr <mbaehr@example.com>]

On Thu, Mar 03, 2005 at 12:34:41PM +0900, Uva Coder wrote:
> > It is also nice to have a choice.  Also good, healthy competition can
> > improve projects too.
> To me that is like saying we should fork the Linux kernel and keep the
> forks separate because it will improve Linux overall.

no forks are needed: *bsd, hurd and other projects are there already.
gnome vs kde but it certainly has pushed the expectations.
(ideally everyone should use GNUstep anyways :-)

as for forks:
the gcc fork egcs has improved the gcc development process a lot.
similar with xfree vs xorg...

this is just the way things are done.
eventually projects fall asleep, then it's time for a fork, or for a new
project to push the boundaries. the result is more projects.

in the commandline muaa space there are 3 big ones: elm, pine and mutt.
those did not happen in paralell, but more in sequence. mutt had not
started until elm had more or less stopped development, similareyl
mutt-ng is now happening at a time where mutt is not moving along
anymore. but new projects don't replace the old ones, they just become
an additional choice.

you can wish for a unified mua all you want. history shows that you
won't get one. i don't see a way to change that.

greetings, martin.
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