Hi Chad, I was very surprised about this email. I hadn't expected such a mail, I read through everything and tried to find out, if you're serious or not. But after reading the whole email, I would say, that you mean it in that way you've written it. I didn't find any sarcasm.
So I only want to write, that I agree with you and that I also want to thank you all people, who contributed to OpenOffice.org. Thank you. Sigrid PS: I'm leaving the whole text (normally I would have deleted most of it and only the relevant parts are left. But since I agree with your "Thank you"-note, I don't delete a line of your message.) Chad Smith <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> schrieb: > Dear OpenOffice.org (if you are reading this - that means you 8^> ), > > I would just like to take a moment and thank everyone who has > contibuted to OpenOffice.org over the past year for their help in not > only promoting OOo, but helping contribute to a project that > selflessly helps others. > > There is no way I can list everyone, if for no other reason is I don't > know anywhere near all the thousands who have contributed. But there > are a few people who have contributed that I have been able to see the > fruits of their labor, or hear others tell about it. > > First of all, I'd like to thank Ian. Ian Lynch has spent countless > hours working with companies, governments, schools, and individuals > promoting a true education of computer use - not just rote > memorization of how to do something in a given program - and the use > of freely available, high quality open source software, including > OpenOffice.org as its flagship. His passionate dedication to open > source, open market, and open standards has been demonstrated in his > deeds as well as vocalized by his words. Ian and I don't always get > along, or agree, but there is no question that Ian is an intelligent, > dedicated, and hard-working promotor of many open projects, and I am > glad that OpenOffice.org is one of the many things he had dedicated > his efforts toward. Thank you Ian! > > I would also like to thank Louis. Louis Suarez-Potts has worked hard > behind the scenes, many times, and not always telling everything he > does to the list, to maintain order in the sometime crazy world of an > open source project. Louis has gone above and beyond his job title of > Community Manager, volunteering many hours of his own off-the-clock > time to this project, and has done an excellent job in creating press > releases, coordinating events, overseeing changes to the website, and > aiding in the transistion from OOo 1.x to 2.0. Louis doesn't have an > easy job, and can sometimes be an easy target for critizism, but he > continues to work hard to make OOo the best coordinated project it can > be. Thank you Louis! > > I would like to continue expressing my gratitude to Ryan. Ryan Singer > has spent many hours of his own time, and many dollars of his own > money, serving OpenOffice.org as Marketing Contact for the West Coast > of the US, and working on the project in other ways, including during > his time as a Sun employee. Ryan's help was indespenible in bringing > together the first ever US OOo MiniCon eariler this year, which, from > all accounts, was a successful and fruitful event. Thank you Ryan! > > If you would indulge me, I'd like to also say thank you to Jacqueline. > Jacqueline McNally has served as the project lead of Marketing for > OpenOffice.org for over a year now. Before that she served (if my > memory holds true) as Marketing co-Lead as well. Jacqueline has had > her hands full with the launch of OOo 2.0 - and before that keeping > the name and mission of OpenOffice.org out there so new users could > find the best Free office suite in the world! It can't be easy > keeping people who volunteer their time and talents focused on an > overriding goal, but under Jacqueline's leadership, OpenOffice.org > adopted a 5-year plan called the Strategic Marketing Plan - > http://marketing.openoffice.org/strategy/ - which aims to do just > that. Thank you Jacqueline! > > And if I can take just a bit more of your time - I'd like to thank > Daniel. Daniel Carrera has served in many roles here at OpenOffice.org > - he's the head of OOoAuthors, the Lord Captain Commander of > OpenOffice.org (ding) (otherwise known as the Community Council > Representative), has helped create installers on operating systems he > doesn't even use, and much, much more. Daniel's efforts to promote and > enhance OpenOffice.org have been too many to mention, and I just > wanted to say thank you. Thank you Daniel! > > As I said when I started, this was by no means an attempt to list > and/or thank everyone who has contributed to OpenOffice.org. These > are just a few of the people I have noticed making large contributions > to the cause. In fact, I could go on naming and thanking just the > ones I personally have noticed, like Rod, CPH, Jonathon, Jean, Jason, > Lars, and others. The list goes on and on. This was just kind of a > reminder that we are all volunteers here - even the ones who may work > for Sun or CollabNet or in any other way profit off of OpenOffice.org > - *NO ONE* makes the kind of money they deserve off of the work they > put into this project. The work that is being done here is invaluable > - it's beyond Dollars, or Euros, or Pounds, or Yen. > > Over a year ago, maybe even two years ago now, when I first started on > these list - I got into a coversation with Daniel and others about why > anyone would do something like this - make a great crossplatform > powerful office suite and then give it away, code and all. A few > theories were suggested, but Daniel told me a secret. He said the > real reason that he personally contributes to OpenOffice.org is > because it is his way of helping to make the world a better place. I > think I called him crazy for that back then. But I get it now. > > No, OOo won't cure cancer or stop world hunger or end wars - but it is > still important work. OpenOffice.org allows people who would > otherwise do without to have access to a world-class office suite. It > gives people who need software an alternative to stealing it. It, > indeed, allows those who wish to the ability to free their data from a > secret format that one company ultimately controls, and will soon > abandon. And it helps some people put food on the table. > > OpenOffice.org is a huge project that expands beyond the limits of the > computer screen as we are reading these lists. It's global. It's > crossplatform. It's multicultral. It's diverse. It's huge. It's as > close as your keyboard, and as far away as the other side of the > world. It's powerful. And it is Free. > > Let's try not to let hurt feelings, egos, or a desire to be in charge > stop us from working together for the common good on this project. > The truth is, the project is bigger than any one of us, and will go on > without us if we leave. But then we'd miss out on sharing the > victories as they come. > > As 2005 draws to a close, and 2006 begins, I'd like to thank Sun > Microsystems, CollabNet, their employees, and all the thousands of > volunteers for the gift of OpenOffice.org - the project, the people, > and the product. It's impacted my life, as well and millions of > others. > > Thank you so much. > > - Chad W. Smith --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
