I have no problem with you expressing an opinion, we are open after all. I do have a problem with you showing disrespect to OpenSuSE. Sure Novell might be making a pact with Microsoft which in some ways are benefitting us because there is a gap between windows and Linux and on a business perspective, that gap NEEDS to be closed, but we are our own programmers. We are as open source as Ubuntu is. We may have a corporation behind us but so does UBuntu, Canonical if I am not mistaken. I am sure that Ubuntu will be in the same shoes as Novell one day since Canonical seems to want to make Enterprise Level Linux and in reality, the only way to do so is to figure interoperability with Windows and possibly Mac. I do IT consulting for Open source and while I am crusading for open source, I also realize that due to the gap between OS Platforms, it is difficult to make someone want to move. Some people have a very special software that only works for Windows. Software like Encompass and there are very few, if any alternatives that will work on Linux. I think interoperability is a great idea as long as Microsoft doesn't attempt to take over Linux, which they can't thanks to the GPL, and I doubt that this community will allow it to. We may have a corporation backing us, but moving to Ubuntu won't solve it since Ubuntu is part of Canonical. I am not saying that no one should go join Ubuntu, I am part of Ubuntu myself, what I am saying is that your reason shouldn't be because Novell is a huge corporation or this whole Microsoft pact. Your reason should be more noble and as for you Mark, please do not enter are mailing lists and bad mouth our projects and suggest we move to yours. That is very tactless, especially for those reasons. On Fri Nov 24 10:16 , Mark Shuttleworth sent:

Novell’s decision to go to great lengths to circumvent the patent framework clearly articulated in the GPL has sent shockwaves through the community. If you are an OpenSUSE developer who is concerned about the long term consequences of this pact, you may be interested in some of the events happening next week as part of the Ubuntu Open Week:

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuOpenWeek

We are hosting a series of introductory sessions for people who want to join the Ubuntu community - in any capacity, including developers and package maintainers. If you want to find out how Ubuntu works, how to contribute or participate, or how to get specific items addressed, there will be something for you. I’ll also be on IRC on Tuesday 28th to answer any questions you may have of me specifically, such as Luis’ questions about our position on software patents at http://tieguy.org/blog/2006/11/22/and-ubuntus-patent-stand/

There are a couple of sessions that would be particularly interesting for folks familiar with OpenSUSE. The Kubuntu team is hosting some events during the week to look at KDE and Ubuntu and to discuss the roadmap of their project. There are also a few events being hosted by the Ubuntu Desktop team’s, which I think should include some discussion of the ideas that came from the recent Ubuntu Developer Summit in Mountain View. There are a couple of Packaging 101 and Package Maintenance sessions too, specifically for developers.

Ubuntu is structured to empower our community to get things done, and to maximise the opportunity for collaboration between teams that share a common vision (even if it’s not 100% of their vision, such as between the Gnome, KDE and XFCE desktop teams). While we’re always open to new members, we thought it would be a good idea to identify a dedicated week where new members would be the focus for our whole project.

If you have an interest in being part of a vibrant community that cares about keeping free software widely available and protecting the rights of people to get it free of charge, free to modify, free of murky encumbrances and “undisclosed balance sheet liabilities”, then please do join us.

I know that posting this message to an OpenSUSE list will be controversial. I'm greatly respectful of the long tradition of excellence in the SuSE product and community and have no desire to undermine that with this post. That said, I think the position taken by Novell leadership in their contract with Microsoft is hugely disrespectful of the contributions of thousands of GPL programmers and contributors to SuSE, and I know that many are looking for a new place to get involved that is not subject to the same arbitrary executive intervention. Ubuntu is one option, as are Gentoo, Debian and other communities. Please accept this mail in that spirit.

Mark

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