New list member, first posting. I agree with the sentiment, but think that product of government employees should be available to the public without needing the FOIA and when the product is NOT made available, thank goodness we have FOIA to PRY it out of the governments hands.
As a federal employee, all code you write should be available WITHOUT the FOIA. It looks to me like the ViSta software was made available under FOIA, so when list members hear about new software it seems logical to me that they would want to have access to it, and it seems FOIA is the means to accomplish gaining access. I am not familure with past ViSta history, but being made available under FOIA seems to me to be saying that it would not be available except for the FOIA, and I find THAT galling and demeaning. As a federal employee, your work product is paid for through public funds and so should be publicly accessible. If you don't want your work product to be public, you should leave federal employment and join the private sector where your work product can be proprietary. I am not employed by the federal government, but I know many who are (including my father and one brother) and deal with more and the number one complaint I have about every one of them is their attitude when dealing with the public - an attitude of 'why are you bothering me, don't you know I work for the government?'. They don't seem to realize 'the government' is in place strictly and solely at the behest of those governed and that the federal employees chain-of-command runs up through the POTUS, then to the citizens who elect him. As a federal employee, you have a job solely because the government feels that, for my sake, safety, and/or welfare something needs to be accomplished and you have the skills or training to accomplish that task, so 'the government' is willing to spend PUBLIC FUNDS to pay you - funds that are generated through the efforts of each worker and paid into the general coffers. You pay into it as well as I, and we BOTH should have access to the fruits of your work, you for having produced it and both of us for having paid you to produce it. My opinion only, I am sure others have opinions that may not be the same as mine. Walt Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message. From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Greg Woodhouse Sent: Thursday, September 15, 2005 11:20 To: Hardhats Subject: [Hardhats-members] I'm going to just say this... For the record, I think the Freedom of Infomation Act (FOIA) is one of the fundamental protections we enjoy in the U.S., and I wholeheartedly endorse it. However, every time someone mentions a piece of software on this list, it seems like someone is sure to ask (in seconds) whether it is available through FOIA, and that always makes me cringe. FOIA is meant to protect or civil rights. That's why it exists. But that's not how it's being used or discussed on this list, is it? It's not an entitlement, nor is it intended as a means to coerce others into granting access to software they are developing. As a federal employee, I resent that so many people seem to think they have (or shoul have) a right to see every scrap of code I've ever written. Yes, I did choose to work for the federal government, and yes I am glad that I did. I want to think that the work I do makes a positive differencver in the world, but I find all this talk of using FOIA as a legal weapon not only galling (even a little predatory), but demeaning as well. === Gregory Woodhouse <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> "Without the requirement of mathematical aesthetics a great many discoveries would not have been made." -- Albert Einstein ------------------------------------------------------- SF.Net email is sponsored by: Tame your development challenges with Apache's Geronimo App Server. Download it for free - -and be entered to win a 42" plasma tv or your very own Sony(tm)PSP. Click here to play: http://sourceforge.net/geronimo.php _______________________________________________ Hardhats-members mailing list [email protected] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/hardhats-members ------------------------------------------------------- SF.Net email is sponsored by: Tame your development challenges with Apache's Geronimo App Server. Download it for free - -and be entered to win a 42" plasma tv or your very own Sony(tm)PSP. Click here to play: http://sourceforge.net/geronimo.php _______________________________________________ Hardhats-members mailing list [email protected] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/hardhats-members
