[linux-audio-dev] Request/Offer: Debian package for Scala

[Lee Revell]

On Sun, 2004-12-19 at 17:32 +0100, Marek Peteraj wrote:
> I think this isn't the point. The point is, that even if the application
> itself is free as in beer, you may encounter problems when trying to run
> it, like: 
> ./scala: error while loading shared libraries: libgnarl-3.4.so: cannot
> open shared object file: No such file or directory
> The closed source model just isn't flexible enough in the open source
> world since more technically capable users are not allowed to fix such
> problems on their own and contribute by sending back.

Yeah, I really hate those cryptic error messages like "No such file or
directory".

Please.  Any "technically capable" user would figure out in a
microsecond that the above means you are missing a library that the
binary is linked against.   It even tells you exactly which fscking file
you need.  The fix is apt-get install libgnarl or whatever.  You would
get a very similar error trying to compile the program if you didn't
have the libgnarl-devel package installed.  This is not a question of
open vs closed source it's USER ERROR.

There are much better examples to illustrate your point (like the old
story of RMS and the printer driver).  Even for a troll that's pretty
weak.

Lee