Christian Science Monitor Putting OSS at the Helm

Jane Walker writes to tell us that the Christian Science Monitor is becoming quite the proponent of open source. The aggressive nature of OSS was a large part of what drew CIO Curtiss Edge into the fold, it seems. From the article: "But beyond the tangibles like open source code it was the community that made a convert of Edge. Behind all the open code, it was the forums and flexibility that were the driving forces he believes breeds better developers than those that toil away with proprietary code. Open source software makes developers more aggressive and more apt to go out into the communities that exist around the software to find solutions to their problems, Edge said, rather than holding on some proprietary help desk line while tech support looks up the answer."

Praise Jesus!

Open Source rules.

Can I get an amen?

Re:Praise Jesus!

Can I get an amen?

Unfortunately, Amen is closed-source proprietary software. However, you can get an OSS alternative: gAmen or kAmen. Careful, though - might start a holy war.

Re:Splitted Personalities

Anyway, sharing with others is a Christian virtue, instead of a form of Communist idealism (which is what proprietary software firms told you).

You forgot to mention the old Homestead practice of community Barn Raisings [wikipedia.org]. -- Probably the nicest pre-computing analogy to Open Source.

Neo-cons co-opted terms like Christian & Liber

I read CSM articles from time to time and find them reasonably well balanced.

Christians are not, in general, a bunch of intolerant anti-intellectuals.

Liberals promote tolerance, not big government and immorality.

The neo-cons smear them both.

Support frustration

"Nothing can be more frustrating than paying someone a pile of money for support and then get someone on line who knows nothing about product,"

To be fair this can happen in open source world as well (well, in the so called "commercial open source world"). But, overall, in general probability of fixing an issue quickly is higher when using open source software.

Re:Support frustration

To be fair this can happen in open source world as well (well, in the so called "commercial open source world").

Yes, it can happen with any business that doesn't manage their support organization very well.

But, overall, in general probability of fixing an issue quickly is higher when using open source software.

And that is because OSS opens the support market up to competition. Proprietary code can only be (well) supported by someone with proprietary access - making proprietary code a gynormous barrier to entry for the support market. Free software has no such barrier, thus enabling competition so support organizations have to compete directly on the quality of their produce (the support they provide).

Great....

Now instead of telling my boss that our issue has been escalated to level 2 support I can say "I won't have an answer until Elm0 in #L1nuxd00dz recovers from his caffine induced tirade about how LISP is more elegant that PERL".

People read the title of the CSM and turn off

when i read the Christian science monitor people glance at the title and knee jerk immediately, 'what the hell are you reading that for?'

Just in case you have not had an encounter with the CSM before, it's not some religious orientated 'intelligent theory' spouting mouth piece of the far right. It's one of the most respected newspapers around, has a league of its own reporters rather than relying on wire services like most other papers, has won many awards for fantastic journalism, often reports on cutting edge science that would make the conservative far right weep, and also often reports on stories that the rest of the press skip over for not being sexy enough.

AND, they're low on cash and have been in the red for some time, how about splashing out on a subscription? [csmonitor.com]

Re:People read the title of the CSM and turn off

The Christian Science Monitor is indeed one of the best newspapers around. They're small (my dad threw away the first few he received because they didn't LOOK like a newspaper), but that's because they don't use the AP wire or Reuters to fill out their newspaper, as the parent noted.

Consistently, the CS Monitor has had definitive articles on subjects. Unfortunately their archive isn't available for free or I'd point to their excellent article on the whole Ten Commandments in the courtroom fiasco in Alabama. While every other newspaper was either talking about the Ten Commandments being removed, playing soundbytes from the judge, or talking about what other reporters were talking about[1], the CS Monitor did their research and printed their story a day later. They talked to the people rallying outside both for and against (and covered the fact that many of these people had zero clue what was going on), covered what the judge was saying and why he was saying it - and when his support for the monument started (here's a hint: election upcoming, he started the whole thing just a few months before).

Their coverage on the last election was the coverage to beat. Managed to avoid the horserace of usual election coverage[2] and talk about the campaign, the people behind the campaign, etc, etc.

In Iraq they were one of the few newspapers not afraid to go outside the green zone and interview real people. Incidentally, for their efforts at finding the truth their reporter was kidnapped and held hostage.

In my opinion the religious convictions of the founder and the church (First Church of Christ, Scientist) that owns the operation (keep in mind that church members do not make up the journalists...they hire those) help keep them well-oriented. For their newspaper "it bleeds, it leads" doesn't happen - they want to discover what is happening in the world and to tell everyone. They believe that the truth is liberating, and they want to find it - whatever it may be. Honestly, they have a lot in common with the Quakers.

The religious article they print is more of a philosophy article, is usually well-written and is treated like the opinion section of another paper. It is there at the request of the founder.

Check out their website at www.csmonitor.com [csmonitor.com], and read a few articles. The major problem with our reporting these days is that the reporters just report events and he-said she-said. The monitor uses reporters with clue who contribute actual analysis.

Cruising quickly, the article on Escalating Violence in the Gaza Strip [csmonitor.com] is a good one, as is today's story of President Bush's Visit to Iraq [csmonitor.com].

People are so used to the bible beaters and the kooks. Religion can be a very powerful force for good. I'm glad to see it happen once in a while.

However, to put this all in perspective...the CS Monitor has its shortcomings. Since they don't rely on wire services, if you want to find out about breaking news you can't just read them like you can several other mega-papers. Their articles tend to come out later (it's the flip-side of doing careful research) and are longer - yes, that can be a downside if you're trying to skim. They don't have local, daily delivery in many places, so their stories come even later if you don't read the online site[3].

[1] - In the news when there's no actual content the reporters will often interview each other. It sets up a giant echo chamber. Easiest example? People in flooded New Orleans shooting at rescue helicopters. Turns out it wasn't that common - might not've even happened at all. Hundreds of stories about it, though. Hundreds.

[2] - Elections are often covered as a race. Based on opinion polls candidate A is ahead or behind candidate B. This is done because there is so very, very little news during an election campaign. The same speech

Re:People read the title of the CSM and turn off

In addition, this lateness has another effect: we generally believe and base our ideas off the first information we get.

We do in the case of information that has high personal relevance. For information that has low personal relevance, the later message is more important. See

Haugtvedt, C. P., & Wegener, D. T. (1994). Message order effects in persuasion: An attitude strength perspective. Journal of Consumer Research, 21, 205-218.

For an overview of strongly related topics, see "Multiple Routes To Resisting Attitude Change" by Wegner, Petty, Smoak and Fabrigar in Resistance And Persuation (Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2004, Edited by Eric S. Knowles and Jay A. Linn.)

Eivind.

Re:People read the title of the CSM and turn off

Given that this seems to be a common misconception, shouldn't they change the name of the publication?

Their founder requested that Christian Science remain in the paper's name. She felt it was very important that there be a reminder that the paper is dedicated to truth and the discovery of truth. The paper is not a paper of record, it is a journal of discovery of what the world is and what is going on in it. Flowery language, I know - but there is a difference between just printing news and having a mission and moral obligation to print the truth as best you can find it.

The founder thought that keeping Christian Science would serve as that reminder - in a time before women could vote, she made a fortune and had people try to take it away from her by lying about her in court. Years and years after she died the paper has gone on doing what it is. Maybe she got the culture right. Who knows, maybe even the name is important.

Oh, and I might add that the CS Monitor has managed to avoid the "I'm going to beat the truth out of you" school of investigative journalism. This has kept their quality high. Humility has a lot to do with it. Culture matters.

What about the literature?

Gives a new meaning to "The Cathedral and the Bazaar", doesn't it!

And God said to Noah...

And God Said to Noah "Thou shal build an ARK-ive so that I may have a back up copy of everything that I have created." And so, Noah made back up. He back up two of everything.

When Noah was finished and everything was backed up, GOD INSTALLED LINUX! (*angles signing "HALELUJAH!"*) As God wiped away all the JPG's of Angelina Jolie on his harddrive, God though of a brilliant idea to create a flightless black and white bird that had it's own exclusive land that would be way COOLER that Eden. (Eden was a pain in the butt to maintain anyway. Between that Adam and Eve thing, kicking them out, and the cost of Fertilzer, and letting some Iraqi people rent the place and calling it Mesopotamia). This land would be easier to maintain because everything there would be frozen.

When He was done installing the fifth disc of the Linux distro, completing setup, and running yum to install any other RPMS that were not installed on the distro discs, God said "Let there be a land of ice and snow so that my latest creation may live in harmony far away from all the other things that I have made." And so it was. He called this land "Antartica" and the creatures he created were called "penguins".

Then God reinstalled most of the files he had and told Noah "If anyone ask what happen, say there was a great flood." "But what about the uber-believers oh, Lord! The take everything literally for the they think they need You to be responsible for there lives, draw stregth from, and condem all the people they call 'science nerds'?"

And God said onto Noah "F*** those Biblethumpers! I'm tired! I'm going to go listen to some Zep* and watch the penguins." You'll probably destroy yourselves over dumb crap that is about Me but I don't want to be any part of your problems. Besides, nerds rule. Only a nerd would have the ablity to use AI and bring stuff to life."

This made Noah a little said, so to make him cheer up a bit God then stated "However, in case there is a big emergency, give Me a holler."

(*="On the eighth day, God created Led Zeplin. He grabed a beer, then he rested.")

Christians and OSS

I certainly have noticed a large number of christians in my local Linux Users Group. Someone posted a question on the list about software for some religious purpose (hymns dissemination contrary to the wishes of the RIAA? congregation monitoring? can't remember really) and they all came out of the woodwork. I was surprised about the number of active church goers. Perhaps I am just jaundiced by boarding school forcing me to go to church, but in my "other than geek" life I know no one who goes to church!

Oblig.

They're putting their faith in OSS!

[ducking]

NOBODY expects the Spanish Inquisition!

Amongst our weaponry are such diverse elements as: fear, surprise, ruthless efficiency, an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope, and nice red uniforms - Oh damn!

No-Brainer!

Well, duh! Everyone knows Christians are huge proponents of 'Intelligent Design'!

More aggressive?

I think the claim that OSS developers are more "aggressive" in seeking solutions is without merit. I mainly develop using proprietary software, and I'm plenty aggressive. I've used the help desk to get technical support maybe once or twice in my (long) career. How aggressive do you need to be to use Google or MSDN? Not very.

And, furthermore, isn't tech support one of the foundations of the OSS business model? Give away the software and hope people will pay for help, right? I guess the people at CSM won't use Red Hat.

WWJU - What would Jesus use?

It's only logically, they both go around trying to force their beliefs on everyone else and RMS does resemble Jesus in that unwashed crazy way.

Open source in line with CS principles

Not surprised that this great paper 'gets it'. Let's hope they will evangelize OSS a bit for the rest of the world. Certainly they set an example. They are so respected. Perhaps a knowledgeable Slashdotter could pitch a comprehensive piece on GNU/Linux and OSS to them. The movement seems to me to be reaching a groundswell.

In journalism there are two kinds of hot stories. Stories of Interest: "Alligator Eats Toddler" and Stories of Importance "Racist Attacks Swell Across Russia." The best stories, of course, combine both elements. The Monitor never sinks to reporting mere Stories of Interest.

The good things said about this paper are all true. I have whittled down my daily RSS to a few choice streams. Slashdot, of course, included and The Christian Science Monitor.

And check out the daily spiritual op/ed item. Generally ecumenical and illuminating. Spiritual and not religious.

Way out of line

I think Edge and Bono should stick to music and stay out of politics. Er.. wait.

Aggressively changing the world for the better?

Sounds like neo-Conservatism [wikipedia.org]...

And I'm only partially baiting flames here...

XenuOS? XenuLinux? Xenux? Xenix?

Kinda catchy, aint it?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenu [wikipedia.org]

InfoWorld has some more

InfoWorld ran an short piece on Chris Edge [infoworld.com] and his use of open source at the Christian Science Monitor earlier this year. It was part of a larger package [infoworld.com] focusing on a variety of businesses and how they use open source.

Buncha damn hippies!!

All those Linux users are just a bunch of damn hippies!

Meet......

Canon R.M. Stallman, prophet of the church of Linus the Baptist, created in the fifth century*. *Although this is disputed, some people say (Church of SCO Intelligent Design) it was made earlier.

How would Jesus code this line?

It's a common scenario in my world. I'll be coding a difficult algorithm and I find myself asking "How would Jesus code this line?" Of course, the answer is always the same /.

Evolution

That would make a great email client for them!

it's interesting...

... that in the 1800's they probably named the paper "Christian Science Monitor" to try and reconcile some Christians and "blasphemous science", to show that follow science and not give up Christian ideals and beliefs. Now, it probably serves as a bridge in the opposite direction, demonstrating to "rational" people that Christianity doesn't mean giving up science.

Re:Danger Will Robinson!

While the Christian Science Monitor was founded by the Christian Science movement (about as far from Bible-thumping Fundamentalism as you can get), for at least the past four decades it has been a general, highly respectable news source with no religious slant.

Re:to clarify:

In the amount of time it took you type all of your responses, you could have gone to the CSM web site and seen whether or not they fit your preconception (er, misconception). They run a single column every day in the Op/Ed section that deals in some way with spiritual matters, and that's it. Almost every newspaper in the US runs at the very least a Bible Quote somewhere on the Op/Ed pages, and the majority of daily papers in this country do carry a religious section, even if only in the Sunday edition, so the column in the CSM isn't terribly out of place (and quite frankly, it's usually fairly nonreligious, but nonetheless it's relegated to the Op/Ed pages where biased commentary belongs).

As an athiest, I can assure you the presence of that one column doesn't somehow "taint" the rest of the newspaper. Quite frankly, the CSM is one of the best, if not THE best, newspapers currently published in the United States, in terms of objectivity, comprehensive coverage of vital issues, and reporting of straightforward facts. You will never see a front page story about Angelina Jolie's baby, or any other nonsense that most American "newspapers" cover, but you will find in-depth reporting from corners of the globe everyone else is ignoring. You'll find original coverage that doesn't rely on republishing the same tired wire reports everyone else is cribbing from, and you'll see rather penetrating journalism that should make every other newspaper's Washington bureau filled with syncophants (of both parties) hang their heads in shame.

Re:I once tried to get tech support for a Red Hat

Was your question "What does the man command do?"

-:sigma.SB

Re:Danger Will Robinson!

Why me? :-O..

(Dials 911) Cop: Hello, how can I help you?

Me: I dont know, some slashdotter thinks I am in danger.

Cop: OK what is the problem?

Me: Not sure...Some religious leaders say Open Source is better.

Cop: What is Open Source.

Me: It is a movement led by Stallman, Linus, Alan Cox, Jens Exboe and many more.

Cop: Ok... Dont worry, cops are on the way to arrest all of them.

Re:What about FreeBSD ?

I was about to make some comment about how that logic says that I like AOL because I have an internet connection, but I just couldn't pull it off. So it must indeed be that a religious body is endorsing the devil. I can assure you full adoption by December 21, 2012 [wikipedia.org].

Re:What about FreeBSD ?

The FreeBSD website [freebsd.org] has a wee bit to say about this:

In the Unix System Administration Handbook, Evi Nemeth has this to say about daemons:

        "Many people equate the word ``daemon'' with the word ``demon,'' implying some kind of Satanic connection between UNIX and the underworld. This is an egregious misunderstanding. ``Daemon'' is actually a much older form of ``demon''; daemons have no particular bias towards good or evil, but rather serve to help define a person's character or personality. The ancient Greeks' concept of a ``personal daemon'' was similar to the modern concept of a ``guardian angel'' --- ``eudaemonia'' is the state of being helped or protected by a kindly spirit. As a rule, UNIX systems seem to be infested with both daemons and demons." (p403)

Religious society endorsing devil

It should be noted that the Devil is pretty much limited to Western religions.

Re:Problems

How about reading the damned paper before you make an ass out of yourself? Any decent scientist would.

Re:What about FreeBSD ?

Point 1 is already messed up.

This is a good thing!

BSD can't die now! Christians have experience bringing things back that everyone believes dead.

Re:What about FreeBSD ?

Did someone say I AM?

*Does a Yahweh jig* ...

*Looks awkward and goes back to his corner*

Re:USA!

Yes, USA, where the ignorant (that's you) can choose not to listen to people because of a LABEL. If you were as progressive as you think you are, you might actually RTFA and find out it's not a religious publication.

Smooth you.

What would Jesus Boot?

Did he say "go ye therefore and license this knowledge to all nations; here's a DRM-protected version." Anyone read the Gospel's EULA?

Re:I once tried to get tech support for a Red Hat

I think the windows support model is much better;
1. pay $1500.00 for A+ course,
2. pay $1500.00 for MCSE course,
3. memorise click pathes to fix anything!
4. install service pack
5. React in Horror as all the memorised click pathes have change; wash, rinse, repeat

Re:Problems

It must suck to be as dumb as you are.