Re: The big MySQL spin

In an attempt to throw the authorities off his trail, pgman(at)candle(dot)pha(dot)pa(dot)us (Bruce Momjian) transmitted:
> Christopher Browne wrote:
>> In the last exciting episode, chriskl(at)familyhealth(dot)com(dot)au (Christopher Kings-Lynne) wrote:
>> >> What I find fascinating is how MySQL manages to declare how
>> >> autocratic they are, and make it seem like a good thing.
>> >
>> > OMG. Quotes like this just make me want to vomit:
>> >
>> > "While something like PostgreSQL or Berkeley DB are straight
>> > democracies," he explained, "MySQL -- and JBoss, to an extent -- are
>> > more akin to representative democracies, such we have here in the
>> > U.S. It's more efficient over the long haul."
>>
>> It's just complete nonsense; some sort of claimed "spin" presumably
>> for the purpose of having _some_ sort of response to Bruce's comments
>> about 'community.'
>>
>> If anything, PostgreSQL is the _only_ one of the lot having something
>> akin to "representative democracy." If I want to get a feature in, I
>> need to go and find a "representative" in Core to champion that
>> feature. Seems pretty "representative" to me.
>
> You don't need core buy-in to get a patch applied. Core may make
> suggestions, as others will, before it finally gets in, but you can
> shoot for a vote anytime.

Well, if I want a patch added, it needs to get applied by _somebody_.
Core's a pretty "usual set of suspects" on that :-).

The issue of whether it all precisely fits with "democracy" or
"autocracy" or such seems pretty iffy, in any case. It's _not_ an
"anarchal syndicalist commune" (in Monty Python and the Holy Grail
style), but attempts to pigeonhole these things surely point people's
thoughts to Pythonesque zaniness.

The slant that hasn't been noticed that is probably the _real_ desire
is for people to look at things with the following parallel:

- MySQL gets compared to "representative democracy," the wondrous way
of the US.

- The alternatives are _obviously_ suspiciously UnAmerican political
arrangements.

Heavens! "Pure democracy!" that's the sort of UnAmerican arrangement
that only occurs in a "peoples' democratic republic," which means that
our corporate friends are wrapped in the Red, White, and Blue, and the
rest of us must be, well, Reds...
--
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