Hmmm. I see two people arguing two different points here. Perhaps I will throw in an interpretation of what I thought Aaron meant, hoping that might help bring the two discussions together.
When I read Aaron's comment on calling Windows by its proper name, I read that right after reading some posts about the planned mini-installfest at Nexus, and a discussion about doing a presentation at Chapters. I took it to mean "When we are promoting Linux to people _outside CLUG_ we should be professional and courteous." In other words, when you bring your linux box down to Nexus in two weeks, try to erase or hide all your pr0n, and when random customers walk in off the street and ask what's going on, be nice to them, don't immediately go off on a tirade about how evil billg is. Sure, here in CLUG (on the list, at the meetings), we're a family, we're friends (I hope), let's tell it like it is. And I agree, when I go to Microsoft sponsored events, I expect nothing but M$ cheerleading. But if you're recruiting, promoting, generally sharing the beauty of Linux to the uninitiated, don't hit the person on the head and say "Join CLUG or suffer eternal damnation". That's not going to grow the cause. Aaron, am I on the right track here? Or were you looking to ban the term "winblows" from the mailing list as well? Ian > -----Original Message----- > From: Kevin Anderson [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] > Sent: Monday, October 07, 2002 10:32 AM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Re: (clug-talk) some quick notes > > > There are corporate sites that offer Linux w/o name calling, and nudity > (IBM, Red Hat, Suse, etc). And people who are looking for a professional > level of Linux support are by far more likely to head there instead of any > of our sites. > > Calling something Winblows here doesn't matter IM(not very)HO. This is a > tech site, and it's specifically targetted at Linux. When I come > here, I do > not expect a perfect answer. I do not expect the level of support or > professionalism that I'd expect from a Paid support venue. What > I do expect > is people who act like themselves, adn offer their best advice. Is it > always right? Speaking from experience, no it isn't. I believe > you shot me > down on the very first post I ever made here. And if I'm not > mistaken, the > second as well. But I'm still here. I suspect others are in similar > situations. It's my personality that means if Kevin sends a > message, it'll > be longwinded. It's a piece of my personality that will cause my nose to > wrinkle at the sound of "Let's just run Microsoft", and that will be > reflected in my posts. Other people have different attitudes > about it. And > that will show. I don't think it's god or bad. I just think that it is. > People are here at least as much for camaradrie as for support help > requests. > > I can understand that it makes us look a bit less professional, and I > totally agree. But so what? Is micro$oft really any thing > except shorthand > for "Redmond company convicted of predatory monopolistic practices in an > ever widening venue, starting with Windows, expanding to Office, IE, and > increasingly on servers, with a consistent history of high prices for poor > security, and mediocre reliability and exceptional virus propagation." In > my mind, M$ is an accurate reflection of the company. > > Why pretend to be something we aren't? Nobody is going to come > to this site > looking for Windows help. Why work to please someone who isn't > part of our > target audience? I'd say quite the opposite actually. If I went > to a WUG, > and heard that Linux sucked, I'd ask why, and request them to > back up their > statement. I see no difference here. > > And REALLY, is it anything new for it to be called Winblows? Is > that REALLY > going to offend anyone? As much as I LOVE Novell (it might make me a > heretic, but I'd still rank it equal with Linux as a server OS), > I know that > NovHell isn't everyone's choice, and that doesn't offend me. > > Just call me RMS the second... > > Kev. > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Aaron J. Seigo" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Sunday, October 06, 2002 12:42 PM > Subject: (clug-talk) some quick notes > > > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- > Hash: SHA1 > > hi everyone.. > > i have verified that the 19th is indeed a go @ Nexus. we have > tables, and it > sounds like we will have various people bringing power, cables, > mice, etc.. > that has got to be the easiest/quickest planning/coordination for an event > ever. =) > > i look forward to seeing you all there. > > of course, that doesn't mean i want to be CC'd on every reply > saying you'll > be > comming. getting one email via the CLUG list is usually good > enough ;-) they > end up in same folder anyways (hoorah for filters!) > > and now for a semi-random thought as i sit here on a sunday > morning reading > my > CLUG email: > > If we wish to promote Linux to non-Linux crowds, should we not > respectfully > call other OSes by their real names? should we not avoid > presentations that > contain more female skin than is usually held to be in "good taste"? > > the assumption is that we wish to promote Linux, of course. if not, go on > calling it winblow$ and putting naked chix in your presentations. i have > nothing against humour or the human form, myself. i'm something > of a fan of > both. it's more a matter of not wishing to offend others away from Free > software. were i either a woman or a Windows fan, i'd be pretty > much out of > here by now. > > *shrug* just a thought. > > - -- > Aaron J. Seigo > GPG Fingerprint: 8B8B 2209 0C6F 7C47 B1EA EE75 D6B7 2EB1 A7F1 DB43 > > "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler" > - Albert Einstein > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- > Version: GnuPG v1.0.7 (GNU/Linux) > > iD8DBQE9oIP51rcusafx20MRAn+6AJsEl/SyPgxRAo8Orm61aXVX/5wqagCeKUQz > 7DeI1LjBKI8gvRuQP0QaEZQ= > =9jDd > -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- > > > > >
