Future of the Python Linux Distribution

[Martijn Faassen]

Glyph Lefkowitz <glyph at twistedmatrix.com> wrote:
> Vetle Roeim <vetler at news.ifi.uio.no> writes:
[snip]
>>    let's just hope it doesn't get a reputation like Lisp (and
>>    derivatives)[1].

> Lisp has several reputations; part of it is from the insidiousness of
> the Lisp "industry".  Luckily, the PSA can never do this, thanks to
> the existance of a free implementation of python in the first place
> (and I *seriously* doubt anyone would want to)

Why would the PSA want to do this? The Python Consortium would be the
better 'evil industry organisation'. Or of course, the PSU. :)

[snip]
>>  - bad PR-agency[3]. until a year ago, I hadn't heard about Python.
>>    now I use it all the time.

> We need more cybernetic time-travelling marketing executives from the
> year 2038 to subdue perl and java proponents with their psychic
> freeze-rays.

A bit hard now that Gordon broke the time machine. For a vague 
definition of 'now', of course. Hm, perhaps it's still possible. :)

> Failing that, a "banner campaign", where everybody who has a web page
> that uses python advertises it incessantly (this would hopefully
> include every Zope site too) might do some good...

[snip]
>> [1]: I like Lisp, but it *does* have a PR-problem.

> Lisp *IS* a PR-problem.  Lisp needs to change its name and shed some
> syntax before it's ever going to get 'mainstream' acceptance; the
> ideas in lisp are good, but too many cs students have been tortured
> with it ...

I think they tried that several times already, though. Scheme, Dylan,
etc..

[snip]
>> [3]: I know there's no PR-agency. it's a joke. laugh.

> If there's no PR-agency, where are we going to get our nuclear-powered
> psychic cyborg executives?  Do you think microsoft has any extra?

We've got various bots, in fact, but they're all quirky. One theory
is that the PSU built them for PR purposes originally. In fact, one
of them *is* probably Microsoft's (guess which one).
If only we knew where the Maya's got their X terminals. I'm still
researching this, but the PSU is on my trail..

Regards,

Martijn
-- 
History of the 20th Century: WW1, WW2, WW3?
No, WWW -- Could we be going in the right direction?