Re: linux with sighted help?

[Nicolas Pitre <nico cam org>]

Note: all instances of "you" below refer to anyone who may feel concerned.

On Thu, 2 Dec 1999, Gary Wynn wrote:

> Will speech be added to the Linux kernel?  The question isn't "will" but
> "when".

Please don't mix up philosophy and computer design.  Yes, of course,
speech will be part of computer environment sooner or later.  But the "in
the kernel" statement isn't the issue and miss completely the point.
Otherwise one could ask and insist to include x window, Netscape, or Word
Perfect in the kernel too...

The need to have speech is clear and well defined.  The way it is
implemented however has *nothing* to do with humanity.

If someone wants to put speech support in the kernel, then just let him
do it.  If it's not the right solution as I might think, then time will
prove him wrong.  And above all, if you believe in some other ways to make
things work, then just write some code to prove you are right.  If you
can't then just let people write their own code.  

Some apps, like khttpd or knfsd, proved to benifit a lot from being
executed directly in the kernel, other apps only requires special hooks
from the kernel to run perfectly in user space.  It's only a matter of
computer design,  and since the beginning of Linux development, only the
best designed pieces went in the kernel when it has been proven to belong
there.  In the mean time, any approach can be tested and anyone can code
ideas.  Multiple available solutions is just healty.

So please everybody, let people do what they are motivated to do.  If you
don't agree, do your own.  If you are right, people will follow you.
Multiple paths might be followed to one's preferences too.  If a solution
is fundamentally wrong, it will die naturally with time.  The current 
debate is just non-sense and useless.

In short, if you don't have code to show others wrong, then just shut up
and let them be.  Self-motivation is what drives free software and no one
will write code the way you want just because you ask for it.

Let it be.


Nicolas