Esther gave me her permission to forward this response letter to you
all. She would like to be Cc'd on any followups, so Please don't
leave her out of the conversation!
>>>>> "esther" == esther <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
esther> [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Karl M. Hegbloom) said:
esther> | I've been told you are a very good writer and that if I ask
nicely,
esther> | you might write a favorable article about Debian GNU/Linux.
esther> Thanks for the kind words.
esther> I'm always in favor of writing about something interesting or
useful or
esther> cool. Even though I don't get to write much, anymore; I'm much more
of an
esther> editor these days, which means that I get to tear apart and
encourage
esther> *other* people's writing. (Usually not in that order.) On the other
hand,
esther> I do have input in what InformationWeek covers, both in print and
online,
esther> and previously I have encouraged Linux/Unix coverage (such as a
recent
esther> online roundtable with the guy who runs Lindows.com).
esther> However: please understand that I'd never go into any assignment
with the
esther> intention of writing "a favorable article." I write with the effort
to be
esther> fair, and accurate, and useful, and interesting to the reader. The
people
esther> who get paid to write favorably are called public-relations flacks.
<warm
esther> smile, and a chuckle> If "fair" turns out to be favorable, that's
fine;
esther> but "fair" is more likely to include both positives and negatives.
NOTHING
esther> is perfect, Karl, with the possible exception of some kinds of dark
esther> chocolate.
esther> I confess that, while I'm positively disposed towards Linux in
general, I
esther> don't have a favorite flavor. My Linux server here runs SUSE, only
because
esther> that was the most recent version that I had received from any of the
esther> vendors.
esther> So I don't know what's happening in the Debian community, or what
makes it
esther> special, or what story there is to say RIGHT NOW about the topic.
You (and
esther> the other people involved) would have to tell me. You'd also have
to keep
esther> in mind that the official audience for InformationWeek are CIOs,
CEOs, IT
esther> Managers and other people who provide fodder for Dilbert columns.
Don't
esther> tell me about the advantages of the latest kernel. DO tell me about
a
esther> company with a recognizeable household-name that's using Debian to
manage
esther> all its e-commerce and judges that it's saved $13 million in the
past year
esther> by doing so. We're a business magazine for people who use
technology, not
esther> (to my sometimes dismay) a technology magazine for people who say
OH COOL!
esther> a lot. (On the other hand, we're still in business. I consider that
a
esther> significant distinction.)
esther> But an article may not be wholly necessary. There's another way for
you
esther> (plural) to approach this subject. I have no objection to you
starting a
esther> discussion in the appropriate InformationWeek forum about choosing
the
esther> right Linux, or what makes one distribution "better" than another,
or
esther> something else with a business focus that touches on Debian (or
Linux in
esther> general). That would sidestep the "need" for formal dispassionate
esther> journalistic coverage, and if the conversation warrants it, the
discussion
esther> can encourage articles. (That's what happened after a very
passionate set
esther> of messages related to the H1B visa program; we have an awesome
feature in
esther> the works about that topic.) Plus, those forums are read by
thousands
esther> (MANY thousands) of IT personnel every week, and it's perfectly
fine for
esther> you-and-friends to offer your personal opinions therein. (I'd hope
that
esther> those opinions would be reasoned, intelligent and eloquent, but
then we're
esther> talking about geeks aren't we? <laughing>)
esther> --Esther Schindler
esther> Site Editor
esther> Information Week
esther> "I don't mind what Congress does, as long as
esther> they don't do it in the streets and frighten the horses."
esther> --Victor Hugo
--
mailto: (Karl M. Hegbloom) [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Free the Software http://www.debian.org/social_contract
http://www.microsharp.com
phone://USA/WA/360-260-2066
