OpenBSD and OpenSSH

[fbscarel]

Hello there guys, this is my first post on this forum. Actually I am an OpenBSD user, but I have used Ubuntu for a while so I appreciate both. I am not starting any flamewar, by the way.

Recently, Theo de Raadt (and some other lead developers, such as Marco Peereboom and Damien Miller) have posted some messages to public forums explaining the difficult financial situation OpenBSD and one of its most popular projects, OpenSSH, are exposed. Links follow:


http://marc.theaimsgroup.com/?l=openssh-unix-dev&m=114316163313701&w=2
http://marc.theaimsgroup.com/?l=openssh-unix-dev&m=114316224627520&w=2


Short story is that a lot of vendors use and abuse OpenSSH (RedHat, IBM, Sun & friends) and do not give a single dollar back. The userbase strives to donate as much as possible, but it still doesn't seem enough for the severe costs to maintain the project.

I'm here to invite Ubuntu users to donate or buy merchandise (CDs and T-Shirts), if possible, from OpenBSD. The project not only develops OpenSSH but also a whole bunch of security features that both the BSD and Linux community have been benefiting for years (such as the recent X.org bugs found by the new free() and malloc() features).

Just a request: do not reply to this post if you are going to give the new super-duper idea to OpenBSD. Some "not-so-smart" people from Slashdot have done it, and it doesn't add anything after all. Since the Ubuntu/Debian guys are so much cooler than the Slashdotters out there, I don't expect that to happen anyway.

Thanks for your time, OpenBSD webpage is http://www.openbsd.org , and if you want to donate http://www.openbsd.org/donations.html .


Most regards,
Felipe Scarel.

[curtis]

I'll try to donate some money soon as I don't want them to stop their great work.
I hope they manage to get enough funding though.

[Brunellus]

does this mean Theo de Raadt will stop viciously bashing Linux at every turn? no? thought not.

[Iandefor]

Wish I could help!

No disposable income, though :(.

[taurus]

does this mean Theo de Raadt will stop viciously bashing Linux at every turn? no? thought not.
He shot himself in the foot too many times to count!!! ](*,)

[mips]

Theo de Raadt's method of communication is somewhat blunt to put it mildly. He says things as he sees them and does not mince his words. This gets to some people that would perhaps deal better with his utterences if if they were more diplomatic in nature. I personally prefer the direct method, that way we are clear about things.

I believe he is doing good work despite his 'lack' of diplomacy ;)

As far as OpenBSD goes I don't think there is much out there that could compare to it from a security point of view. OpenSSH is worthy of financial support. It really annoys me that corporates benefit from free stuff and does not give back to the project or community.

Maybe we should lobby the big corporates to support stuff like this.

[Brunellus]

Theo de Raadt's method of communication is somewhat blunt to put it mildly. He says things as he sees them and does not mince his words. This gets to some people that would perhaps deal better with his utterences if if they were more diplomatic in nature. I personally prefer the direct method, that way we are clear about things.

I believe he is doing good work despite his 'lack' of diplomacy ;)

As far as OpenBSD goes I don't think there is much out there that could compare to it from a security point of view. OpenSSH is worthy of financial support. It really annoys me that corporates benefit from free stuff and does not give back to the project or community.

Maybe we should lobby the big corporates to support stuff like this.
the big corps are not accountable to you unless you are a shareholder with voting shares. They will listen to money and not much else.

[mips]

the big corps are not accountable to you unless you are a shareholder with voting shares. They will listen to money and not much else.

True but it will not really hurt the likes of HP, Sun, Cisco etc to each donate say $20 000.00

Oh well, at the end of the day it is free. You can only take so much and then the source dries up.

[tageiru]

Short story is that a lot of vendors use and abuse OpenSSH (RedHat, IBM, Sun & friends) and do not give a single dollar back.
In what way are they abusing OpenSSH? They are following the terms of the BSD license.

Most rants that come from the BSD-camp is about how restrictive the GPL is and how wonderfully open the BSD license is. I guess it isnt quite as fun when it comes back and bites you in the behind.

[Th3Professor]

does this mean Theo de Raadt will stop viciously bashing Linux at every turn? no? thought not.

I can't help but laugh when Theo pulls another rant out of his hat. ;)

While he is certainly an outspoken individual (and perhaps lacking in diplomacy, as "mips" put it), he is also one of those people that you've just gotta take with a grain of salt.

It helps to take a step back, look at it through the looking glass, and apply some healthy skepticism - lightly - to the blatant ambition of someone like Theo.

But yeah, I doubt he'll stop bashing Linux. He's a prime candidate for:
"Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me."

:)