the witch free software distribution's philosophy thing, sorta.


--attempted short/concise version:

no centralised organisation.  a bazaar made of as many microcathedrals or bazaars or hybrids as there are user/developers.  everyone, no matter how small their input, is a developer.  no two teir distinction.  everyone can have their own witch.  anyone can contribute.  it's a do-ocracy. 

 ~ it kinda resembles wicca in this regard.

and... it must be the weight of a duck, or else it's not a witch.

(so this is Digit saying his releases of witch are not THE releases of witch, they're just some releases of witch)



--an older version:
as with all decent distros, there's a core principle or philosophy which guides it's development, witch is no different in this regard.
in practice, witch's philosophy looks like everyone creating their own distro.  building your own witch, doesnt even require you to start from an existing witch as your base/meta distro, and addapting that to become your own "version" of witch.   if you like this "no central hierarchy" philosophy, then witch is likely for you.
you can take an existing witch, e.g. the debian-based rowan alpha4, fix it's bootloader and apt sources list, rebrand it with a new name (e.g. zelda), and release that witch.  the whimsical naming is up to you, but so far the names for existing and vapourware witches, are all quite like you might expect a witch in fiction to be called (rowan, willow, jamella, kali, etc).
you can collaborate with others and construct a witch, from scratch, starting from an existing released witch, by frankensteining, from another distro entirely, or whatever.  the point is you're free, so just carry on.  ^_^ 
you do not need permission.  as was written in previous incarnations of the witch philosophy (whimsically called "the code of the covenant"), "do, and inform.", rather than asking permission from someone before proceeding.   ... many of us have become institutionalised to hierarchy, and are at first uncomfortable with this freedom and autonomy.   you'll get used to it.  
in practice, in irc, this means you'll see statements like " i've made this whirlybob for witch here https://wvvw.bobsgnustuff.tv/witchwhirlybob.html ", or " i'm going to make a whirlybob ", rather than questions like " is it ok to make a whirlybob? ".  it's just more effective and efficient like that.    
by ASKING, you're prompting for a responce before carrying on.  this wastes your time, and the time of anyone else who gets sucked into your act of giving your power away, in such a manner.
by pre-emptively INFORMING, you're not wasting time waiting, and still affording anyone the opportunity to raise any concerns or suggestions.
by retro-actively INFORMING, you're potentially cutting out even more time-wasting fuss, by not bothering with the discussion committee, and just getting out whatever your idea is, into practical form, asap.  
but really, you're free to do it however you like.  ^_^
this freedom extends to all aspects of the distro.  make a site, a host, a git, a cvs, an svn, a chat, a wiki, a forum, a web app, a... whatever u like.  there's no central fascist to appease, it's up to you to decide what witch needs, and what to do.

the suggested philosophy of witch, fits somewhat, with the organisational structure of wicca.   ... i.e. there isnt really one.  it's more an undefined assortment of techniques.  
though witch's name was born of the pun that exists in "burning witches" ("burning distro .ISOs to compact disk"), and was pursued because of a love of the witch scene in Monty Python's The Holy Grail, it is a nice fit (or "happy accident") that such a loose form as is found in wicca should be so apt for a distro.  
So although there's not really anything of wicca about this free software distro we call witch, and to my knowledge, none of those who've frequented the #witchlinux irc, or been involved in it in any way, have ever practiced any witchcraft. 
to be clear, witch was not made as a distro for witches.  
you do not need to be a witch/warlock to use witch.  if you seek some equivalent of christian ubuntu or islamic ubuntu, but for witches, then you will be disapointed by existing witches.   ... you are of course free to make such a witch if you want.  
so dont expect us to give you tarrot readings or any of that stuff.   we make free software and free software distributions, not predictions and prophecies, nor curses and potions.  
sorry i've no neat soundbite for you to grasp the wicca-esq structure/philosophy... i'll chalk that up to not wanting to let such soundbites to be used to excuse stupidity.  ^_^  (an idea from exherbo)