KatolaZ <katolaz@???> wrote:

> Well, not everybody pays his bills developing open source software,
> but if I were a Debian developer, who had adhered to the debian Social
> Contract [1], I would find it difficult to organise a fest to
> celebrate Microsoft offering Debian as an option on its
> azure-whatever. Call me a hippy, if you want, but I do see some
> incoherence there.

What if we s/Microsoft/Rackspace/
(you can use pretty well any hosting outfit really)
The basic underlying thing that this announcement shows is that ${company} now supports ${OS} on it's hosting platform. Yes, the sole reason they are doing it where ${OS}==Debian is because they think there's money to be made from it. I think you'll find that most of the hosting outfits are in it to make money - sorry if the idea that someone is allowed to make a profit upsets some sensitive types.


> The user base of Debian is already the largest, in the server
> industry, without Microsoft intervention. And this is the "problem"
> Microsoft would like to "solve" with this "smart" move, IMHO.

Maybe, I can see that their motive may not be entirely "pure".


I'll point out that I am certainly no fan of MS or their (proven illegal) business practices. I'm well recognised in the office for it - and it's hard working in a small services company that's effectively an "MS shop". But there's a difference between disliking them and how they do things, and having an irrational complex that *everything* they do is all about their dodgy practices.

Whether supporting Debian on Azure is just logical, or there's an ulterior motive, it's happened and we don't know which reason it is. What I am sure about though is that talking as though there's nothing MS, RH, and certain others do that isn't driven by some "bad intention" sends out a bad message that is off-putting to some and plays into the hands of others.
I'm just suggesting that sometimes, reading this list is like being at an evangelical meeting of some hardcore cult - and that *IS* very off-putting to a large number of people.