Ask Ethan

[nap]

Thanks for all theses responses, now we better see where is going the Nagios
project.


Jean

On Tue, Mar 2, 2010 at 5:55 AM, Ethan Galstad <egalstad at nagios.org> wrote:

>
> The recent messages on this list indicate a need for better
> communication between parties.  It may be exciting to start a flame war
> or launch personal attacks based on unfounded assumptions, but its not
> effective or beneficial.
>
> If you have questions for me about what I think regarding the future of
> the Nagios Project, commercialization of Nagios, Nagios XI, trademarks,
> community stuff, etc. - just ask.  In order to expedite and coordinate
> responses to share with the community, I've created a new "Ask Ethan"
> form online where you can submit questions to me about whatever you'd
> like.  I'll answer these questions in the monthly Nagios News that goes
> out.  As long as there continues to be new questions, I'll do my best to
> make "Ask Ethan" a permanent monthly section in the newsletter.  Submit
> a question at:
>
> http://www.nagios.com/askethan
>
> Here are some quick responses to questions I've seen asked.  If you want
> more detail on any of these, submit an "Ask Ethan" question at the link
> above and I'll go into more depth in the newsletter...
>
> 1. Nagios Core and other OSS components of the Nagios Project are
> important to both myself and Nagios Enterprises.  Nagios XI (like many
> other commercial solutions) is based on those components and we
> definitely want those projects to flourish in the future.  *I* may not
> be the person actually coding or integrating patches (I've done that for
> over a decade now), but I'm dedicated to finding ways to ensure the
> project continues for at least the next decade.  And just so there's no
> confusion on the subject, Nagios Core will always be free as in speech
> and beer.
>
> 2. Our commercial Nagios XI solution is not 100% Open Source, and it
> probably won't ever be in its entirety.  There are some really great
> components that we license from other parties and we plan to include
> other licensed components in the future.  Why?  They provide a better
> solution to our customers than OSS alternatives (if they even exist).
> Most all other commercial Nagios solutions out there go the same route.
>
> 3. While its relatively new for Nagios Enterprises, commercialization of
> Nagios is going to expand in the future, so we can continue to provide
> more great solutions for the people that need them.  Commercialization
> also makes it easier to provide resources to ensure the existing free
> OSS projects prosper, and that new projects can be funded.   If you
> object to the commercialization of Nagios, consider this: the only
> reason I wrote Nagios and released it as an OSS project in the first
> place is because I intended to use it for commercial purposes.
>
> 4. We have, are, and will continue to regulate the use of the Nagios
> mark and prevent its misuse to ensure the integrity of the Nagios name
> and the future of the Nagios Project - just as I was personally doing
> long before the conception of Nagios Enterprises.  Our trademark policy
> is almost an exact clone of the Ubuntu trademark policy.  Its a great
> policy that fits the needs of both community advocacy and the commercial
> legal requirements for brand protection, anti-dilution, and consumer
> confusion.  Open Source licenses like the GPL only address copyright -
> not trademark.  Trademarks are a separate type of intellectual property
> that is out of scope with what copyright covers.
>
> 5. I've dedicated the past 11 years to the Nagios project and have done
> my best to keep the project going and keep it within the scope of what a
> monitoring engine should be.  You can jump to all the conclusions you'd
> like, but unless you've dedicated several consecutive years to building,
> maintaining, and supporting a project like Nagios, you simply have no
> idea what it takes to take care of everything that happens along the
> way.  The choices that I make are what I consider to be in the best
> interest of the project in the long run.  You don't have to agree with
> me.  I have no intention of trying to make each and every single Nagios
> user out there happy.  It isn't possible.
>
> 6. There is nothing broken or wrong with Nagios Core the way it is.  Its
> a monitoring *engine*.  It works well for hundreds of thousands of users
> today.  Many people still run Nagios 2.x, 1.x, or even NetSaint -
> because its works just the way it is.  An integrated DB-backend, web
> based configuration engine, and a whole lot of other stuff are out of
> scope for Nagios Core - that's what addons are for.  Even the Nagios
> Plugins are out of scope for Nagios Core - that's why they're a separate
> project.  If you want something additional in Nagios, check out all the
> addons that are available on Nagios Exchange.  Start your own addon
> project if a suitable one doesn't exist, or contribute to an existing
> project if you see a need for improvement.  If you see a problem in
> Nagios Core, step up and make a patch.  Don't complain if someone else
> doesn't produce something that you want.
>
> Lastly, I would urge you to wait a few hours and consider things
> carefully before you decide to fire off a flaming email insulting or
> making accusations towards myself, other core contributors, or community
> members.  Its not only unprofessional and counterproductive, it is also
> somewhat self-defeating in that it is akin to biting the hand that feeds
> you.  If you insult Nagios OSS developers, how do you expect new
> contributors to want to join the various Nagios projects and donate
> their free time to bring you great software?  It doesn't make sense.  I
> could have a hell of a time asking new people to join the teams if they
> expect to be treated poorly by people they're delivering free stuff to.
>
> Remember that people that contribute to OSS projects like Nagios
> generally do so in their free time, and of their own accord.  You can't
> expect everyone to be available to you all the time, and at any time you
> wish.  I don't owe you anything when it comes to the time I can commit
> to various projects and neither do the other people that contribute
> their time to Nagios projects.  Period.
>
> - Ethan
>
>
>
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Download Intel® Parallel Studio Eval
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