Two complaints

Two things worth commenting on (or rather complaining about) this morning:

Item 1:
Scoble posts a picture of a sign at LinuxWorld stating that those under 18 are not admitted. Smart move? Dunno. It depends on the purpose of the conference holders. But what struck me about Robert's post was his opening line:

"Ahh, when the Open Source folks wonder why using Linux isn’t “cool” you have no further to look than this sign for the reason..."

Ok. So exactly which open source folks are wondering why using Linux isn't "cool" ? And maybe Robert is missing the point on Linux and the open source community - that can happen when you're working inside enemy lines for so long ;) If the viability and success of Linux and open-source depends on conferences we are all in trouble. It's being powered by a community. Most of which never attend conferences.

Robert goes on to write:

"...any conference where I can’t take my son and walk around is just something that’s going to have a hard time impressing me (hint: we both went to MacWorld with Dave Winer and then walked across the street and bought a Mac): "

For me, it's up to the organizers. If under-18's would benefit from attending but are not allowed then it's clearly the conference organizer's loss - but extending that loss to open-source and Linux in general is.. well, dumb. And btw, you don't have to buy proprietary hardware across the street from this conference. Those pc's you've currently got running Windows will do just fine for Linux :)

Item 2:
I've heard Mike Arrington mention his feelings that the blogosphere seems to be more vindictive, mean and uncaring lately (just listen to the session he led at this past Bloggercon). He also points out that Nick Carr is someone who fuels this. Do I agree with Mike? Yes. And I'm not sure it's limited to the blogosphere either. But that is another story for another time.

Now, this morning I see a post on Mike's weblog that says simply:

Shel Israel to Dick Carr: “just sit down and shut up”

Hello? Mike? You're lowering your standards and losing principled readers like me in the process. Take the higher road. When I read posts like this I'm inclined to unsubscribe. It's name-calling, and not even funny name-calling. Grow up. This is exactly what you rallied against in your session at Bloggercon.


Sheesh.