Shen explodes over in Hacker News

[dr.mt...@gmail.com]

Every now and again I get thousands of hits on the Shen site in a day. 

Today this is coming from Hacker News.    And as usual, the complaint

is that TBoS is not free.  

TBoS could be bought for the price of a restaurant meal and read in depth.  

Then the OS reader could write a book based on his slant (not
plagiarism) and make it free.  Perfectly OK by me.   I want to flag that.

A free book based on teaching Shen with a commercial slant would

be a valuable asset.

But the OS community complains and ties to dragoon somebody who does
not support their ideas (me) into doing it for them.  The OS
community  is quite extraordinarily shallow at times.   

Anyway anybody who writes such a book, and does a good job, has my 

blessing.  I'll review the book, and, if it is good, endorse it.  If

they want to give it away, I'll be quite composed.   It is their book

and their decision.  What I would never do is try to pressure them

in making it free like these guys, or like Stallman accuse them of being 

immoral for selling it.

However the kerfuffel has jogged me into remembering that I intended

an e-copy.  My publisher seems to have walked away from this 

technology and probably I need to open this matter again.

Mark