Comparing Linux and Minix [LWN.net]

Comparing Linux and Minix

Posted Feb 5, 2007 17:46 UTC (Mon) by proski (subscriber, #104)
Parent article: Comparing Linux and Minix

Andrew Tannenbaum reminds me a politician whose main point is that we would be better off if Walter Mondale won the election in 1984. Maybe we would, but isn't it time to move on, just to stay relevant?

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A Plea

Posted Feb 5, 2007 17:53 UTC (Mon) by drosser (subscriber, #29597) [Link]

Could we refrain from the personal attacks? I'm not asking for a RULE per se, but how about a level of professionalism?

A Plea

Posted Feb 5, 2007 18:32 UTC (Mon) by proski (subscriber, #104) [Link]

I hope my comment doesn't really qualify as a personal attack. But I'm sorry for any offense.

A Plea

Posted Feb 5, 2007 23:20 UTC (Mon) by sidecut (subscriber, #628) [Link]

It's possible that the original complaint about a personal attack was a joke, one whose origin is a dry sense of humor.

But, assuming the original complainer wasn't joking, I don't think that it was a personal attack. Frankly, it's a metaphor, and right on the money. After reading the article, it's shocking that Dr. Tannenbaum's results are -- to me, anyway -- misleading. He was acting like a politician or a salesman. Now if you consider either of those two labels insulting, then perhaps it is a personal attack after all! ;)

A Plea

Posted Feb 11, 2007 2:31 UTC (Sun) by giraffedata (subscriber, #1954) [Link]

Well, it's not a metaphor. It's a simile. The commenter says Tannenbaum is like a certain kind of politician, not that he is one. And it's about the weakest kind of simile: "reminds me of."