Thanks to Sam Tuke for a well-written and constructive response to my article Is free software major league or minor?. Tuke refers to my post as a “dismissal” of free software, however, which is ironic at best. There is no such dismissal in my article. Instead, there is a challenge: “Can we raise our game?” Furthermore, I would argue that classifying that challenge as a “dismissal” stems from a fundamental lack of faith in our ability to succeed — which is ironically, the accusation Tuke levels at me. Where does this disconnect happen?

Three recent problems with packages in the last stable release of Debian GNU/Linux (“Lenny”), brought me face-to-face with what is still a major obstacle for acceptance of free software on the desktop: contempt for the values of the people who use it. Despite all the accusations of unfair trade practices or other excuses, this remains as one solid reason why free software is still perceived as “geeks only” territory. If we want to progress further, we’ve got to improve our attitudes.