> I bought the Hackers Dictionary by Eric S. Raymond
That hurts a bit to read. Raymond is/was a huckster who took the original Hackers Dictionary, a communal MIT project, and made some edits. He went on to annoy the Linux community with his CML2 antics around the build system. Lisp/MIT, BSD, and Linux all have their own histories, a mixture of forgettable drama and fundamental difference.
The Jargon File had been dead and dated for nearly a decade when he picked it up. His maintenance and publication was an important part of making this content relevant and accessible to future generations.
Eric Raymond's work is a mix of good and bad-- like you could say about anyone.
Oh interesting -- I didn't know any of the above Raymond controversy (or even really who he was; the name just is etched in my brain from that book)
As a guy who found the Jargon File via that book, I'm grateful he did it. But I can see how publishing an edit of an online forum would ruffle a lot of feathers: 30 years later you get guys like me attributing it all to him.
That hurts a bit to read. Raymond is/was a huckster who took the original Hackers Dictionary, a communal MIT project, and made some edits. He went on to annoy the Linux community with his CML2 antics around the build system. Lisp/MIT, BSD, and Linux all have their own histories, a mixture of forgettable drama and fundamental difference.