[Info-vax] OT: The New Face of HP

[Richard B. Gilbert]

John Wallace wrote:
> On Oct 15, 12:17 am, Arne Vajhøj <a... at vajhoej.dk> wrote:
>> seasoned_geek wrote:
>>> On Oct 13, 6:17 pm, Arne Vajhøj <a... at vajhoej.dk> wrote:
>>>> 1)  Why do you expect someone to fix this problem for you without you
>>>>      paying?
>>> I said I didn't care if the bug was fixed or not.  I didn't contact
>>> HP, I contacted the registered volunteer maintainer of the package and
>>> not only reported the bug, but provided them with the compilation
>>> results and identified what need to be changed.  The response was to
>>> direct me to HP's contracted services and fork over some 1200 or so
>>> Euros and they would get right on it.
>>> You cannot be the registered volunteer maintainer _and_ direct all bug
>>> reports to a billable service.  You are only allowed to say that you
>>> will put it on the list of things you might get to, but to jump ahead
>>> in the list you can contact this other service and pay money.
>> As a volunteer maintainer he can do whatever he wants to do.
>>
>> If you want some specific service then you pay.
>>
>> You have gotten software for free. You have gotten access to the source
>> code for free so you can fix problems yourself. But you apparently
>> have a mistaken and rather absurd idea that you also get support for
>> free. You don't.
>>
>>> The "negro" slur was his response to my pointing this out.
>>> Once again, I don't care if it is fixed or not, as I stated, I was
>>> simply offended by the crime.  Yes Arne, it was a bait and switch.
>>> They didn't say they don't maintain the package anymore, they didn't
>>> say they would add it to the list, they said somebody had to pay them
>>> before they would look into it.  If they want HP to be paid for their
>>> time, that is fine, they simply cannot be the registered volunteer
>>> maintainer, therein lies the fraud.
>> Get a grip on reality.
>>
>> Volunteer maintainers are not obliged to act in certain specific ways.
>>
>> If you are unhappy with the maintainer then you fork the code
>> and create your own version.
>>
>> And while no one can demand any specific service from you, then you are
>> free to provide 24x7 support with bug-fixing guaranteed within
>> 4 hours if you want to.
>>
>>>>      I cannot see why HP or this gentleman should offer you support
>>>>      for free.
>>> Because you don't read.
>> More likely I just know what volunteer maintainers do.
>>
>>>> 2)  And accusing him of of supporting KKK sounds like slander to me.
>>> Regardless of what it sounds like to you, he made a racial slur and
>>> accused me of being an overseer abusing slaves which is and was
>>> completely inaccurate.
>> He noted that you wanted service for free and that slave owners
>> actually fed their slaves. That seems to be two accurate
>> statements.
>>
>> I would consider it a rather rude comparison.
>>
>> But it does not mean that he is supporting KKK.
>>
>> Arne
> 
> 
> "Volunteer maintainers are not obliged to act in certain specific
> ways."
> 
> The clue is in the name.
> 
> Volunteers do not demand payment.
> 
> I suspect that most people in most parts of the world would think that
> any maintainer who demands payment (be it a personal payment or a
> payment to their employer) before doing maintenance work has
> voluntarily relinquished the position of VOLUNTEER maintainer.

If you paid me to write something for you, I have some obligation to fix 
bugs.  Stuff I've released as free ware contains a clause in the license:

"If it's broke, you fix it!"

If you ask me to fix something I wrote I'll expect you to make financial 
  arrangements.