Re: RE: Installing SNORT 1.8.3 on win2k server

[Stuart Staniford <stuart () silicondefense com>]

On Tuesday, March 12, 2002, at 03:28 PM, Martin Roesch wrote:

> Should we discuss the cost of producing Snort in the first
> place in man hours donated to the project versus your contribution?  
> Nah,
> it'd make that contribution look pretty paltry and profit motivated in
> comparison.  Foregoing the development costs in favor of a 
> renewable-revenue
> services model isn't exactly a new idea.

and

> As you know, I run a company that is directly competitive with yours  
> and
> yet I seem to be able to refrain from constantly engaging in crass 
> marketing
> tactics.

Marty:

Firstly, I'd like to say that I appreciate tremendously the years of 
volunteer effort you have put into Snort in the past.  No-one would 
question the massive contribution you have made in starting and 
sustaining Snort, and the Snort community.  You were public spirited in 
the extreme.  We at Silicon Defense are deeply grateful for what you 
pioneered.

For a number of years now, we have been glad to help and support you and 
other members of the community by releasing free software to help use 
Snort, producing components for Snort, working on algorithmic 
improvements to make it faster, and helping users with their queries on 
the list.  Our company has been built around Snort from when it was 
tiny, and it continues to be so today.  In working with an Open Source 
product, we recognize our obligation to try to be of benefit to the 
community, and to contribute to it as best we can given the 
circumstances we find ourselves in.  We intend to continue to offer help 
to the community in the same ways we have done in the past.

If members of the community think that our communications have seemed 
self-serving, as opposed to simply helping people, or explaining the 
free resources that we offer to the community, I apologize.  I am 
distressed at the tone of this thread, and if we have contributed to 
that, I'm sorry also.

I share your sense that the snort-users list, snort.org, the snort CVS 
itself, etc should exist for the benefit of the Snort community as a 
whole, and not for the benefit of any particular company that might try 
to use them to gain "crass" business advantage.  Since you, and we, and 
others, all now run for-profit companies that are trying to make a 
successful business out of the expertise we have each developed in 
Snort, this presents something of a challenge.  While we compete in some 
ways, we need to co-operate for the benefit of the community in others 
and we need to remain civil with each other in the various public forums 
for the Snort community.

> I've been getting some cries lately to start moderating the list
> lately based on the volume of users who don't read the docs before 
> posting
> (c.f. constant MySQL/ACID posts, etc) and now due to the on-going 
> marketing
> campaign Silicon Defense seems to be using this list for.  I don't want 
> to
> do it (because I like the list the way it is)

If indeed the snort community determines that snort-users needs 
moderation, can I suggest that we find someone impartial to do it?  That 
would protect you from any suggestion that you might use the position of 
moderator to advance your own commercial agenda.  People who don't know 
you well might wonder whether there was a  conflict of interest between 
your role as President of Sourcefire (a private company seeking to make 
a lot of money from Snort) and as the moderator of snort-users (trying 
to prevent misuse of the list for commercial purposes).  I suggest some 
kind of impartial person or advisory board might be the best solution to 
avoiding any such perception.

> The snort-users list is for discussing the use of snort.  It is not 
> intended
> to be used as a marketing platform nor to push personal or corporate
> agendas.

Agreed.  It's reassuring to hear you say that.

Perhaps Sourcefire and Silicon Defense should try to agree on a code of 
ethics that we would both adhere to to ensure that neither company was 
abusing the list etc for its own commercial advantage?  Other companies 
in the Snort space that chose to do so could be involved also.

> If you have something to add to help users that's valid and useful 
> we're all
> happy to have your input,

Thanks - I'm glad to hear you say that too.  We will do our best on that 
score.

Stuart.

President, Silicon Defense.


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