Open source ferrytale...

Stumbled upon and loved it...

This post is for all of you out there who have developed or contributed to Linux/Ubuntu projects and all of the open source coders who read this.I do not know where to send a post like this so I hope this one email will find its way in the sea of posts out there.

I thank you to the point of tears.

Earlier this week I installed Kubuntu on a refurbished AMD computer I purchased for $184 from a discount online vendor, it came with no OS. It now runs like a champ.

We cant afford much and this was my 14 year old daughter's birthday present this past week. She is overjoyed. And she is already trying to tackle Adept Manager and exploring Linux; adding bling and her music, of course.

I cant tell you how much I appreciate the work you all have done. Its a work of art. If I could thank each and every one of you I would.

You have given her the world to learn and explore.

So if you get frustrated or tired in your work for Open Source/Free Software, just remember that somewhere in Missouri there is a 14 year-old girl named Hope, an A-student who runs on the track team, who is now your biggest fan and one of the newest users of Linux/Ubuntu.

Thanks most sincerely,

R.B.A.
Missouri

https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel-discuss/2008-May/004196.html

./ - http://news.slashdot.org/news/08/09/13/0236248.shtml

aqui writes "A university student at Carleton is learning that no good deed goes unpunished. After hacking into what was probably a not-so-secure university network, this guy took the time to write a 16-page paper on his methods and sent it to the system admins. Sounds like White Hat behavior to me. Yes, he should have asked permission before trying, but throwing the book at the guy and wrecking his life with criminal charges (which stick for a long time) seems a little excessive. The university should spend money on hiring some admins with better computer skills and teaching skills rather than paying lawyers. In the Engineering department at my old university, the unofficial policy was that when you broke in, didn't damage anything, and reported the problem and how you broke in, they didn't charge you (if you maliciously caused damage, you usually faced academic sanctions). In some cases, the students were hired or they 'volunteered' for the summer to help secure the servers or fix the hole they found. The result was that Engineering ended up with one of the most secure systems in the university."

Your old school did, indeed, do the right thing. This one is not. The guy came forward with what he discovered, in good faith! It gives them the opportunity of preventing a malicious person from causing real damage... and they are going to punish him for this? That's just wrong.

In fact, it could theoretically turn many others into "black hats" that will go after them, just because they were so hard-nosed with this guy who was, let's be honest, doing them a favor!

Time for that school to get a clue. I'm really disappointed in their actions.