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John Horne wrote: >Hello, > >I was asked a curious question at work a short while ago. It is possible >that we will undertake a project in 2007/8 provided that we can get the >funding (amongst other things). The project will require using >open-source software. I was asked if it would be possible for me to talk >to some individuals to see if they have "the right attitude towards OSS >software in order to work on the project". > >We are very much an MS Windows site with some central services provided >on Linux/Unix servers. Most of the IT staff are very conversant with >Windows; some are familiar with Linux but mainly from a curiosity or >'does it work under Linux' point of view. > >What I can't figure out is what 'attitude' is it that OSS people are >supposed to have? Do others see us, as users/installers/coders of OSS >software, with a particular 'attitude'? Do I have this attitude; do you? >Comments? > > Basically it means someone who has been trained or trained themselves to a reasonably high level in the subject of 'computing'. This means TCP, unix, networking, programming properly, hardware, servers etc. and then built on this knowledge with experience. And by programming properly I mean documentation, diagrams, designs, comments, consistent high quality programming style, etc etc not just someone who writes lines of code which are then incomprehensible to anyone else and even to themselves at a later date. Some people seem to just sit in front of Windows PC, flounder about for days/weeks and then consider themselves to be IT technicians. These people will not undertake training because it hurts them too much or they just don't understand the fact that they are completely out of their depth. After all, if they know next to nothing about a subject then how can they judge their own competence. So the right attitude means a good overall understanding of computing and a willingness/ability to learn more. By the way, if anyone feels they have the right attitude could they drop me an email? I'm looking at extending some commercial work and will probably need extra competent people to help out at all levels. The right attitude is more important because if someone has the right attitude then they can be trained in extra areas of expertise as required. I would also need people to be able to be part of a team. I have spent a few years working towards expanding and have a structure to the way IT services are provided. Kevin -- The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG http://mailman.dclug.org.uk/listinfo/list FAQ: http://www.dcglug.org.uk/linux_adm/list-faq.html