A Patchy Server and the FAQ

[Rich Bowen <rb...@rcbowen.com>]

I was perusing the FAQ today, and came across this text:

Why the name "Apache"? 

      A cute name which stuck. Apache is "A PAtCHy server". It was based on
some existing code and a
      series of "patch files". 

      For many developers it is also a reverent connotation to the Native
American Indian tribe of Apache,
      well-known for their superior skills in warfare strategy and
inexhaustible endurance. Online information
      about the Apache Nation is tough to locate; we suggest searching Google,
Northernlight, Infoseek, or
      AllTheWeb. 

      In addition, http://www.indian.org/ and http://www.nativeweb.com/ are two
excellent resources for Native
      American information. 

And this is what I've believed for a long time. But at ApacheCon, Ryan Bloom
(or it might have been Roy Fielding) talked about the real origin of the name
Apache, and about the falacy that it came about for the above reason. Of
course, it is our own FAQ that is perpetuating the falsehood.

The Apache name, we were told at ApacheCon, derives not from a cute name, but
directly out of respect for the Apache people, and their system of government
by meritocracy. I think that we probably owe it to the truth, and to the Apache
people, to correct this and set the record straight.

I was wondering if someone that was around in the early days, or someone that
has a correct understanding of the Apache governmental system, might put
together a paragraph or two about the connections between the ASF system of
government, and that of the Apache people.

The "Patchy Server" pun bears mentioning, for historical reasons, but should
not be listed as the primary source of the name.

-- 
Rich Bowen - rbowen@rcbowen.com
Have trouble remembering things?
http://www.idforgetmyhead.com/



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Re: A Patchy Server and the FAQ

[Joshua Slive <jo...@slive.ca>]

On 12 May 2001, Rich Bowen wrote:
>
> And this is what I've believed for a long time. But at ApacheCon, Ryan Bloom
> (or it might have been Roy Fielding) talked about the real origin of the name
> Apache, and about the falacy that it came about for the above reason. Of
> course, it is our own FAQ that is perpetuating the falsehood.
>

The best source I know (besides directly asking Brian) is
http://www.linux-mag.com/2000-04/behlendorf_02.html

It sounds like the pun wasn't the original inspiration, but it has been
there from the start, so its not inappropriate to think of it as part of
the origin of the name.

Joshua.


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