Hangdog42 |
06-13-2008 10:03 AM |
Quote:
Originally Posted by Takla
I'm not sure we are all reading the same review!
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I'm pretty sure we are, but some of us are getting vastly different impressions than others.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Takla
Perhaps because she assumes the interested readers are already aware of this? She states "My first impression: Slackware is still Slackware". That statement says plenty to anyone familiar with the evolution of free software. She obviously is familiar with Slackware over several years and versions and credits her audience with already knowing something about the Slackware way, or at least its unique position.
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Someone writing for a general site like O'Reilly shouldn't be assuming anything of the sort. Yes, she is obviously familiar with Slackware, which makes it all the more inexcusable for not discussing why it is different instead of dismissing those differences out of hand. She is a linux professional, she should be able to understand why some of us don't want automatic dependency resolution. Instead we get that it is "inexcusable". Similarly she should be able to understand why not having an official repository of compiled software isn't a bad thing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Takla
A reviewer's or blogger's job is not to simply offer unadulterated praise, deference or love-sick enthusiasm. To criticise reviewers for expressing opinions that differ from one's own, or any opinion at all is ridiculous.
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Maybe you need to re-read this thread. Nobody is asking her to change her opinion or to fawn over Slackware, what we are asking is that she give Slackware a fair shake. I would be perfectly fine with the review as it is, if she had added a few sentences about why the differences exist in the first place. This is where she stumbled badly by offering her preconceived notions about what a distro should and should not do as fact.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Takla
It's a little hard to reconcile what she actually wrote in plain English with the Alice in Wonderland interpretations and howls of anguish offered in response.
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Again, you need to go re-read those responses. Most of what got posted was pretty reasonable. She is the one who started the "How dare you question me I'm a linux professional" attitude when people pointed out that maybe her opinion wasn't all that objective. Again, by presenting the same conclusions from a more balance point of view would have helped the article immensely and probably would have earned her some kudos. Slackware users are probably the first to admit that it isn't for everyone, but a lot of the reasons behind why Slackware does thing differently are actually worth discussing and would have made for an excellent article had she actually bothered to do it.
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