It's always irritating to see the open source community being target for FUD in the media. But, for me the sad part is to see smart people actually believing it without actually doing some research to see if such assertions actually having any merit.
The same goes for when individuals attack close source projects just for the sake of taking a shoot. Some committing the same fault, not doing much research.
I've close friends, and family, who use Apple's products and use open source software on them. The most common among them, are Firefox and Chrome. While they do recognize the merits of Linux, they don't use it because they find they like better Mac OS X and the computers.
And even though I like the aesthetics of the Apple's products, I wouldn't even consider owing one now. The policies and behavior Apple has shown during the last couple of years prevent me to do so in good conscience.
For me, open source software is on par or better than the close source alternatives. Yet, what really bothers me is that some members of the open source community lower themselves to the level who attack open source software without merit. We should be able to ignore those attacks, and concentrate on the those that actually have some substance to them.
The answer to those attack may come in several forms. It could be by counter arguing, and showing them where they are wrong, or accepting fault where there is one and take step to fix it.
There will be always criticisms, but let's be wise on how to respond to them. In a healthy community, the criticism that helps it grow and correct mistake should be always be welcome. No matter from where those criticisms come, because sometimes the most useful ones come from people from outside that can see the whole picture better.
At the end, it will help our community grow stronger.
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