Key Linux group faces split

By Stephen Shankland, CNET News, 21 March, 2003 08:58

NEWS

A schism has struck the XFree86 movement, an open-source graphics project key to Linux and several other operating systems, with the core group in charge of the project expelling one of its members. The six-member Core Team of the XFree86 project announced Thursday that it had ejected former member Keith Packard for trying to create a parallel XFree86 project but refusing to discuss reasons for the radical move with the rest of the core team. The core team disclosed the ouster in conjunction with an announcement of a new mailing list to discuss XFree86's future. In an interview, Packard didn't comment on specific actions but indicated he was trying to make it easier for interested and qualified programmers to contribute to the XFree86 project. "XFree86 is not currently a friendly place to play," he said. XFree86, which sends graphics commands for tasks such as drawing windows to video cards, is a crucial part of Linux and several other operating systems. Packard has been leading improvements to font technology. The stakes in the issue are high. Open-source advocates often boast of the advantages of the collaborative programming model, in which the source code underlying a particular program may be freely shared and changed. One drawback of this freedom, however, is that people with different ideas can "fork" the software into different projects that are incompatible, that dilute programmers' energy by forcing them to duplicate the same features or that require outside programmers to work with more than one group. Forking isn't all bad, though, advocates say. It can act as a safety valve to prevent a misguided group from gaining too much control, and it can be used to provide competition to assess which of two approaches is best. Indeed, forks of the heart of Linux itself, the kernel, frequently branch off as programmers work on pet projects they hope eventually will be accepted by leader Linus Torvalds into the mainstream. The XFree86 raised the forking issue as evidence of the seriousness of Packard's actions. "It has been brought to the attention of the XFree86 Core Team that one of its members, Keith Packard, has been actively (but privately) seeking out support for a fork of XFree86 that would be led by himself," a message from the Core Team and the XFree86 board of directors said. Packard also is forming a group of people with "vested interests" to discuss his concerns about XFree86 but has refused to disclose those concerns, the group said. "As a consequence, Keith Packard is no longer a member of the XFree86 Core Team," the group said. Packard defended his actions, saying he was gathering information before making his case. "I was trying to get some help in framing the discussion from members of the community before making incoherent statements to the XFree86 management," he said. "I'm still trying to do that." But Packard abused his privileges as one of the handful of people authorized to "commit" changes to the XFree86 code base, said XFree86 project leader David Dawes in remarks to the new forum mailing list. Specifically, Packard added a new "Xfixes" section to the software "without any prior discussion, let alone public review", Dawes said. David Wexelblat, one of the XFree86 board members who signed the original notice of Packard's expulsion, directed reporter queries about the group's actions to his own posting. "While still a member of the XFree86 Core Team, (Packard) has explicitly attempted to subvert XFree86 by soliciting individuals and corporations to create an alternative to XFree86," Wexelblat said. But some changes are afoot, Wexelblat added. For example, the project needs more people who are authorised to commit software changes, "mostly to reduce load on the people who are currently responsible. I believe this is already in progress," he said. One source familiar with the debate said Packard's actions are aligned with the views of top Linux seller Red Hat and server maker Hewlett-Packard, which employs Packard. Red Hat and HP didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. The split left some distressed. "Bad mistake," said Alan Cox, a top deputy to Torvalds and an employee of top Linux seller Red Hat, in a response to the XFree86 Core Team's move to oust Packard. It would have been better to let him try an experimental project within the XFree86 community then evaluate that project on its merits, he said. "XFree86 is hard to get involved with usefully, resistant to cool ideas," Cox said. The project suffers from "plodding progress", a reluctance by leaders to delegate decisions to lower-ranking programmers and preference for infrequent releases rather than the frequent updates used for the Linux kernel itself. And in January, another Red Hat programmer, Mike Harris, said XFree86's actions damage relations with outside companies such as graphics card maker ATI, which has had to wait "months and months" for software updates to be accepted. "How long is ATI going to continue submitting patches to XFree86.org that take nine months to get (accepted), and then perhaps another four to six months to be available in an operating system," Harris asked. "Quite frankly, if I were ATI, and submitting patches as frequently as they do, and the patches just sat there, I might start thinking twice about bothering in the future." Others urged an amicable resolution. "I think I'm going to cry," lamented one commenter at the Slashdot "news for nerds" discussion site. "Please try to work this out with Keith... Don't end up hating each other and refusing to share your code with each other. Either side of such a fork would have a much weaker team."

For all your GNU/Linux and open source news, from the latest kernel releases to the newest distributions, see ZDNet UK's Linux News Section. Let the editors know what you think in the Mailroom.

Talkback

The author should do some homework. XFree86 is not the primary windowing system for Linux systems, it's X.org (http://xorg.freedesktop.org/wiki/), which was not even mentioned.

via Facebook 4 February, 2006 02:46

Post your comment

In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.

You can also log in with Facebook. Log in or create your ZDNet UK account below

By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Community FAQ

ZDNet UK Live

I totally dislike pirating of works, I fear that artists will be deterred from creating works if they think that they are going to get ripped off....

6 minutes ago by GHar123 on ACTA stumbles in Germany

How dare film makers, artists or anybody that invests in creativity stop us pirating their works for free. I want to be able to walk into my local...

6 hours ago by JCB33 on ACTA stumbles in Germany

@GrueMaster. I prefer horses for courses rather than one size fits all. I, and I suspect most other computer users, do not really wish to have...

8 hours ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

The product that scares me every time I have to use it is the Office 2007 version of Excel. The first bug that I found was applying the median...

8 hours ago by greycynic on Ten flawed products that derail productivity

Nice review and very informative. One thing I'd like to add (in reply to whs001's 1st question), the main reason to have the same interface from...

9 hours ago by GrueMaster on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

I'be been using Mint 12 since the RC came out, and I am far more happy with the Cinnamon, the Mate, and, yes (with extensions), theGnome 3...

10 hours ago by Frederick Wrigley via Facebook on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

Excellent article. One small correction, though--although a fresh installation of Linux Mint 12 will, indeed, provide the user with a version of...

11 hours ago by bdantas on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

11 hours ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

11 hours ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material

For Gnome 2 die-hards, it is possible to add icons to the bottom panel (or top top panel, if you prefer) which provide the exact Gnome 2...

12 hours ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

Your comments would seem pretty naive and immature. Your 'solution' appears to be, "gee, let's all just give in to the hackers and give them...

12 hours ago by ramwellian on Cloud computing security: no more oxymoron?

"Interesting thought ... If you installed Win7 as a dual boot on a machine that previously only had Linux, and it wrecked your Linux installation,...

13 hours ago by BugStalker on Windows 7 Declares War on GRUB

This is an excellent summary of Ubuntu and Mint and the interface differences between them. Most such articles take a very partisan position for...

13 hours ago by whs001 on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

@ewallace. Not so clear. Anyone can obtain the text, for example from here http://www.ustr.gov/webfm_send/2379. I support ACTA so long as it and...

13 hours ago by Moley on ACTA: Facts, misconceptions and questions

I think WinRT is fantastic. I just wish it was an option for people that didn't want to go through Microsoft's App Store with its attendant...

16 hours ago by 45283 on Why Windows 8 needs architectural hygiene for WOA

Nine people? £30m? Who's back pocket is that lot going in? And IF they say it is for new buildings, what about all the ones the government has...

17 hours ago by Burn-IT on Police set to launch three £30m e-crime hubs

Just to be clear, nobody knows what is in the text of ACTA, here is a photograph of the text of ACTA http://twitpic.com/8h9iju as submitted to the...

17 hours ago by ewallace on ACTA: Facts, misconceptions and questions

Unfortunately main issue is that ASUS is refusing to accept that they make some mistake on this version of asus Transformer prime. 1 - GPS sensor...

19 hours ago by fgvrg56 on Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime Wi-Fi & GPS problems?

@Marcus A fair question. Just talked with Archos which said it was working on an announcement for next week....

20 hours ago by Ben Woods on Archos confirms G9 Ice Cream Sandwich update schedule

Any update on this, considering the claimed "first week of February"?

21 hours ago by Marcus Karlsson via Facebook on Archos confirms G9 Ice Cream Sandwich update schedule

Featured white papers

Latest jobs

Key Linux group faces split

Daily Newsletters

Topics

Related stories

Linux gets standards for devices

Linux to get mainstream server tests

Linux entrepreneur reclaims software

Perens: Linux could learn from Apple

Talkback

Post your comment

ZDNet UK Live

Latest in Application Development

Perens: Linux could learn from Apple

Featured white papers

Latest jobs

Test Analyst - Business Intelligence /Data Warehousing

Test Analyst - Business Intelligence /Data Warehousing

Technical MI Manager - 50-60k - Leeds

Inside ZDNet UK

A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

2012 Predictions: VCE FastPath, VI SAN Probe & Hadoop

BlackBerry Bold 9790

Case study: How cloud enables growth

Ten factors that make Ubuntu 11.10 a hit

Toshiba Portégé Z830-10P Review

BT's archive: Pictures from the vault

News & Analysis

Reviews

Blogs

Resources

About Us

Member Services

Special Features

Advertising Features

ZDNet UK / News and Analysis / Application Development

Key Linux group faces split

Daily Newsletters

Topics

Related stories

Talkback

Post your comment

Get ZDNet UK's daily newsletter

Enter your email address to sign up

ZDNet UK Live

Latest in Application Development

Featured white papers

Latest jobs

Inside ZDNet UK

Resources

About Us

Member Services

Special Features

Advertising Features