[HedgeMage]

As a side note, I'd like to add a point that I highlighted in my O'Reilly Security Conference talk but previously forgot to mention here...

One of the coolest after-effects of this whole thing was that, after the fork, when NTP classic began feeling the pressure of competition, their speed in addressing security vulnerabilities increased incredibly. While I was sorry that it didn't happen on its own, I was pleased and impressed to discover what Mr. Stenn was capable of once his competitive hackles were raised.

Many people experience hurt feelings during a fork, and a fork represents a frustrating duplication of effort that I'd usually rather avoid. However, forking is a central tenet of the open source ethos for a reason. Competition can do incredible things. <3

[tptacek]

If a primary purpose of forking ntpd was to give the original project a kick in the ass about fixing vulnerabilities, could it not be argued that your project has now served its purpose, and dollars could be better spent on building from the success of "NTP Classic" --- which, after all, is the version of NTP most likely to be deployed?

[HedgeMage]

I would agree with you if NTP classic had fixed the total of its social and technological problems. Unfortunately, this is not the case. "Patching faster" is one small victory.