I just closed the commenting for the Microsoft Support thread as I think we've seen all the angles of this discussion. In addition, I pulled the OOXML post. Kernon meant well, I'm sure of that, but it's only putting oil on the fire right now.
I can't even begin to explain how disappointed I am by the attitude in this community - I can only hope it reflects the opinion of the minority or else I'm wasting my time here.
19 Comments
you are not the only one disappointed here....
poeple if you hate microsoft...do so...but no need to create a "war-like" situation here....
bart...you took the right step i guess...else we would be having another thread with all sorts of angry comments
Here Here Ankit Pruthi! We work together. This is the blender community, not the "PLACE YOUR OS HERE" community. And we help everyone who needs it to be able to do what they want to the best we can. At least that is the part of the community I want to be a part of. And I am proud to further such software, because blender is more than just a piece of software, it is a gateway to the imagination of the user. It is beacon of open source and a new way of life, one that excludes no one.
i owe a lot to blender.....and the community too....
its because of this piece of software that i hav chosen animation as a career and my classes in collage will start soon.....
i am proud of the fact that i support open source..and its all because of this wonderful software
all the help i got here was incredible....
i was disappointed for the first time on visiting blendernation..
i hope nothing like this happens in future....
Of course it doesn't reflect everyone's opinion! Only those that care about such topics actually post, and seeing the discussions not only here but on slashdot as well, those that do care apparently care a LOT. Personally I won't touch that discussion with a ten foot pole! (and of course everyone's free to have their own opinion)
That said... please keep up the great work here at blendernation! We all really enjoy reading the news every day! It is a great resource and a lot of fun to visit! Be asured that all the work put into it is appreciated!
I wouldn't take it too seriously Bart.
Yeah I agree. Blender has changed a lot for me as well. I have been paid for work I did on Blender. I teach and the kids love blender, plus it helps me to teach math, and geometry, and even astronomy. I have made games to help my kids enjoy doing their work, and I admit I have a lot of fun using it.
Blender helped me to learn python, and then to go on to learn other programming languages. So I owe blender and this community plenty myself.
People are shocked when I tell them it is free, and can't imagine why someone would just give them such a gift. When I teach Blender I feel like Santa Claus. And my education is in large part to the work of the Blendernation team. So thank you guys!
P.S.
Kernon, I will be using the information you posted tomorrow. Thank you. And a thank you to ideasman42 as well.
Well maybe if you guys who want this Microsoft partnership so bad too the inititive and had an organized and orderly *official* discussion where those who love as well as those who hate the idea can get their thoughts published and put against one another in a civilized manner you wouldn't have to act so damn "disappointed" all the time. From where I'm sitting, the condescending attitude of Kernon and others is just as destructive as anyone else's "irrationality" - which I wouldn't even call irrational, but that's my position.
So yeah, quit speaking to fellow blender users like they are children who just can't understand how to behave.
Oh please BlenderLovingSquirrel2... just... no...
Keep up the good efforts Bart. I love this site the design and functionality are great not to mention the articles! Hope to keep reading more updates.
I think it reflects more how much the community loves Blender and are afraid it is gonna change in a bad way. Everone is afraid of change especially if it seems that it is good enough.
So I don't see why you should be worried about the community I think you should be glad so much people care about Blender.
And that lots of people hate Microsoft had nothing to do with Blender thats for them to solve :)
Judging by the behaviour of some people 'blenderlovingsquirrel2', half of them were children. If you are not interested in using an OOXML export script then don't! There are no 2 sides of the argument here: you're either winging about the behaviour (and generosity) of a community member and giving them hell, or you accept it has a place in the world. Kernon's attitude was hardly 'condescending', he posted news which was required to little work to do, and thought might be of interest to the community.
If you think that is 'irrational', take a holiday. Preferably in space.
So yeah, quit acting as if something is bad because you don't like it. There are plenty who do.
What less did they expect to happen. OOXML I have not seen providing a patent protection to everyone and allow use in GPL2/GPL3 programs.
Now ODF export option wound be questions why but would not get a nasty reponse. Reason we are sure we can use it and not get our asses bitten.
Tell them to come back when the can provide paper work that commercial users can use it without risking getting there ass sued off or paying anything.
Do NOT restart the discussion here. Thanks.
Might be a good idea to disable comments here or you'll probably have a similar response I'm afraid. :S
Keep it Blender!
*sigh*
Dissapointing...
@Andrew - Beware of Comments from the Community - they are blender's downfall...?
And Bart, with you're little comments, "Or else I'm wasting my time here" "Or else I'll turn this car around!"
You and Kernon are being more dramatic than anyone else. If you didn't anticipate this kind of reaction from a core base of open source enthusiasts, to having relationship with one of HISTORY'S ALL TIME MOST INFAMOUS MEGA COrporations Microsoft then you must have been living in a cave.
You're asking fire and ice to mix and make nice. Well just because in your head it makes sense doesn't mean that it's not going to be a cause of conflict in reality. You're "tsk tsk" attitdude shows me that you're out of touch with teh situation. To you, it is about as simple as functionality and compatibility.
But to a very large chunk of the rest of us, it's about personal experiences with Microsoft. It's about economic philosophy and critical thinking. It's about political thought and personal feelings. If you cannot appreciate THAT part of the human blender community equation - then you ARE out of touch. But don't wag your finger at something that you are oblivious to. Just becasue you don't grasp it doesn't make it illegitimate.
@BlenderLovingSquirrel2: congratulations, you just got banned from posting comments. I asked nicely not to stirr up the discussion again and I'm sick of it. Bye!
Hello all,
It certainly gets heated when it comes to the age-old 'bad Microsoft' discussion. :)
I never really got to politely post my comments in the last post, I hope its ok if I do here. This is just my humble opinion - no harm intended. I will fully attempt to be discreet and tactful.
In my humble opinion, this isn't really about Blender at all. I feel that Microsoft's overarching strategy in contacting all these successful opensource projects (Blender isn't the only one) regarding better 'interoperability' is about beating Linux. Nothing else.
In my opinion, Microsoft feel that if they can 'help' an opensource project to build some software that is beneficial exclusively to Windows then they have a reason to say, 'Yeah, Linux will run blender, but the Windows version has more useful features.'. You know what, it may be a really useful feature that they add to Blender *that is only fully useful when coupled with Windows*.
I don't think they'd be coming after Blender with lawyers. I feel that this is not what they want. I think that their plan is simple: beat Linux. Build platform specific features into successful opensource projects that give users some excuse to use Windows more than Linux.
Just as I said at the beginning of this post, I don't feel that this is about Blender at all. Its about Microsoft beating Linux.
.....heh, personally I don't want them to win. :)
Ah well, we'll 'see how the cookie crumbles' as we head on into the future. But yeah, as others said, tread carefully. :)
You people just can't stop talking about it eh? Sheesh.... comments are now closed.