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Subject: Re: The Bickering Debate

Author: Ed Schröder

Date: 00:08:57 10/31/99

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On October 30, 1999 at 12:04:18, Fernando Villegas wrote:

>The long thread which is esentially a discussion between Bob H. and Ed S. has
>something surrealistic in it. Bob is -or was- arguing that commercial guys does
>not contribute to the field because they are secretive of his little tricks and
>just like to make technical profit from non commercial guys ideas; Ed is saying
>-or said- that's not really true, as much this and that technique was delivered
>by this or that commercial programmer.
>Bob is the purest case of non commercial, not money interested reasercher and
>his child Crafty the paradigm of the freeware world; Ed is the purest case of
>professional commercial progammer, enterily dedicated to that since ever, with
>the best developed commercial site, constant attention to his customers, etc,
>etc. How guys so opposed in needs, interest and position in life can even meet
>in a common ground to share even a definition about what is the issue under
>discussion?
>Ed earns a life selling his products and so he should be a fool to give his
>relatives advantages to his competence; the esence of his work is to keep his
>trade secrets the longest time he can. Bob is a scientist that earns his life
>teaching and researching in an university; the esence of his work is becoming
>public the soon as possible to get recognition from his peers and help his field
>to give another step.
>So clearly they cannot cut a deal even it such thing appears to happen due to
>good manners and a mutual desire to end the discussion with some kind of
>diplomatic uinderstanding. They even does not understand in the same way what is
>a new idea. For Bob is just matter of who was the guy that first wrote about the
>discussed issue in a scientific magazine; for Ed is a matter of who was the guy
>that put the idea to work in an efficient way. The same with colaboration; for
>Bob, as scientist, is about sharing concepts and discoveries; for Ed, as a
>commercial guy, is a mater of cooperation for mutual -not universal- benefice.
>Ed is prepared to share his ideas with Theron because both of them are joined in
>a common commercial adventure; as much as he does so, he surely see himself as a
>man that cooperates after all for the advancement of the field. For Bob nothing
>less than to communicate his thought to the entire world is enough.
>Who is right' Nobody is. They are different persons in differents situations,
>each of them doing his best and producing universal benefice in dfferent ways,
>one direct, the other more indirect. And we need both approachs. What a
>scientist can get in the atmosphere of university campus probably concnetrates
>in the area of pure research; what a commercial technics can gets the better is
>getting general ideas works better and better. Sooner or later both ways meets
>and the entire field jump o a higher level.
>Fernando

I don't think I would behave different if Rebel wasn't a commercial program
regarding contributions. For me the item of competing would remain decisive.

Ed



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