by redmail.netbsd.org with SMTP; 22 Feb 1999 01:54:54 -0000
	by doit.pgh.net (8.9.0/8.8.7/PGH.NET-02) with SMTP id UAA12699;
	Sun, 21 Feb 1999 20:22:30 -0500 (EST)
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 20:22:29 -0500 (EST)
From: Matthew Orgass <darkstar@pgh.net>
Reply-To: Matthew Orgass <darkstar@pgh.net>
To: davidw@debian.org, Mason Loring Bliss <mason@acheron.middleboro.ma.us>
cc: netbsd-advocacy@NetBSD.ORG
Subject: Re: NetBSD/Linux 'distribution'
In-Reply-To: <19990220232726.Q11361@acheron.middleboro.ma.us>
Message-ID: <Pine.BSI.3.96.990221174526.307C-100000@doit.pgh.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

On Sat, 20 Feb 1999, Mason Loring Bliss wrote:

> On Sat, Feb 20, 1999 at 09:52:25PM -0500, Matthew Orgass wrote:
> 
> > Of course, in that case why not make your userland into a NetBSD
> > package?  That would probably generate some interest in the NetBSD 
> > community and is almost certainly the only chance you have of getting any
> > help.
> 
> "NetBSD: Come In and Be Loved"

  :)

  Well, considering that NetBSD's userland will be a package soon (under
some definition of soon :) ), I do not think that this would constitute
"joining NetBSD".  This would also allow several system possibilities:
  * primary NetBSD userland with additional Debian userland
  * primary Debian userland with additional NetBSD userland
  * just one userland (either)

This assumes that you are keeping the same NetBSD system libraries,
bintools, etc., which would probably be much less work for you then to 
have a completely separate system.  You could then use your install
program to install the Debian userland as the main (or only) userland
(updating it to use NetBSD packages in addition to Debian pacakges).

  This would benefit NetBSD by allowing sysadmins who have users who like
the feel of Debian's userland to install both and let the users change
path to determine which one to use ("Can't decide between Linux and BSD?
Have both with NetBSD + Debian").  Debian would gain the portability of
NetBSD.

  If you use the NetBSD kernel without doing this, then it would only be
much gain for NetBSD if you encouraged NetBSD binaries or contributed bug
fixes under BSD license.

  If you did none of these things, then it would probably not generate
much more then a note on the web page.  This would still be a good thing
IMO, and you would not be the only one to be doing this (Oracle, for
instance, is using the NetBSD kernel as a basis for a database server). I
do not think you would encounter much hostility at all as it would not
be particularily unusual (unless, as I said earlier, Debian users start
posting to NetBSD mailing lists asking for help).  In this case, I would
recommend not putting NetBSD in the title at all (Debian OS or such) and
giving credit elsewhere.

  Since you did not state your purpose in wanting to use a NetBSD kernel,
I do not have any way of guessing which of these possibilities lies closer
to your intentions.

Matthew Orgass
darkstar@pgh.net