On Mon, Feb 18, 2008 at 10:11:32AM +0530, Mayuresh Kathe wrote:

quoted text
> > > Also, we don't get to use his code for FREE, I suppose most of the

> > > users *buy* CD sets.

> >

> > If only they did. A miniscule percentage of the user community buys

> > CD's, and the sales are dropping. The vast majority of users simply

> > download the code. The faster internet connections get the fewer CDs

> > are sold. Not complaining, we provide the code for them to do that,

> > but ...

> >

> > If all our users bought a CD set there would be a *lot* more

> > development going on by dedicated/paid developers. If corporations

> > needing paperwork to donate would contact www.openbsdfoundation.org

> > and donate there would be a lot more development going on. And if pigs

> > could code as well as fly all our problems would be solved.

>

> Ken, in that case why don't you and rest of the team, led by Theo take

> a concious decision to stop downloads?

> Why are you harming yourselves by allowing people to also download?

> I for one buy CDs every year, year after year.

>

> Best,

>

> ~Mayuresh

If we stop allowing downloads people will just cvs themselves a tree

and build releases themselves.
If we stop people cvs'ing themselves the source we cease to be a

free software project.
If we cease to be a free software project I and most other

developers would leave.
If we all left the project would be over and there would never be a

chance to implement the changes you want.
I for one would love to see a cage match between you and the equally

vocal complainers who can't understand why we make life hard for

them by not providing a raft of downloadable ISO images of our CDs.

Maybe the entire crowd would end up groggy enough to actually read

the goals of the project on the web and accept them or move on.
For the groggy: http://openbsd.org/goals.html. Points 1, 2, 8 and 12

in particular.
.... Ken