On Fri, Mar 15, 2013 at 10:04 PM, A. Mani <[email protected]> wrote:
> Thanks for all the suggestions. The final version mailed is as below. > An online petition may also be put up. > The file mentioned is at : > https://www.dropbox.com/sh/6ngqqhaqdhxhrmi/hzySjAOeDQ > > I just could not help but put my media studies hat and pick some issues with the register of the Letter. I will attempt to humbly suggest a reformat stated below. I would not suggest naming a company, but a technology stack. Since JEE board may not be doing purposeful bias. It may just reflect a general trend. Also suggesting such change without suggesting direction of change may entail just removal of "only Microsoft" and not other modifications. I have marked changes with **. Also we should do a media campaign by doing a audit of all government websites. To, The Executive Director Joint Entrance Examination Unit Central Board of Secondary Education, F.I.E, 482, Patparganj, Industrial Area, Delhi-110092. AND Related Personnel of CBSE. Sub. Main JEE site is discriminatory, non standards compliant and excludes non-IE Users Dear Sir/Madam, I am writing on behalf of the following Free Software groups* based in India and **also as technically savvy representative of general public **. We notice with dismay that the main JEE website ( http://jeemain.nic.in/jeemain2013/Welcome.aspx ) excludes **majority of people from painlessly using your website. As the authoritative statistics ( http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp) suggest Google Chrome forms close to 50% users reach-out to view the site. Several of them use mobile phones as well. By applying a policy of supporting Microsoft Internet Explorer, JEE board is taking up an elitist view how the website is consumed.** **To illustrate an example**, there is an attached file documents with the problem of handling admit cards on the site with non IE browsers. This practice of favouring one company and one platform preferentially despite its dwindling user base suggests deeper bias. Also any browser-specific 'lock-in' is a direct violation of clause 7.6 (b) of 'Guidelines for Indian Government Websites' ( http://darpg.nic.in/darpgwebsite_cms/Document/file/Guidelines_for_Government_websites.pdf ). To quote: "It is a MUST that Indian Government websites are tested for multiple browsers and versions of browser, operating systems, connection speeds, and screen resolution to ensure access by all" We as representative of general public will be pleased if you will take appropriate remedial action in this regard. **We suggest http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Responsive_web_design as a good starting point for design website such that it works on desktop and mobile phones seem-lessly** Thank and Regards A. Mani (On Behalf of the following FOSS Organizations) * [1] Kolkata GNU/Linux Users Group http://www.ilug-cal.info http://www.iglug-cal.org [2] Free Software Movement of India http://www.fsmi.in [3] Free Software Foundation of India http://www.fsfi.org [4] FOSS Community Network of India http://fosscomm.in/ [5] ILUG-Chennai http://www.ilugc.in ______________________________ _____ [6] http://en.windows7sins.org/ [7] http://www.reddit.com/r/ragecomics/comments/11c1t1/internet_explorer_rfunny_said_i_should_post_it/c6lbhu2 [8] http://techrights.org/wiki/index.php/Microsoft_influence_in_the_Indian_government [9] http://techrights.org/wiki/index.php/Companies_That_Harm_Software_Freedom > _______________________________________________________ > > To, > The Executive Director > Joint Entrance Examination Unit > Central Board of Secondary Education, > F.I.E, 482, Patparganj, Industrial Area, > Delhi-110092. > > AND > > Related Personnel of CBSE. > > > Sub. Main JEE site is discriminatory, non standards compliant and > excludes non-IE Users > > Dear Sir/Madam, > > I am writing on behalf of the following Free > Software groups* based in India. > > We notice with dismay that the main JEE website > (http://jeemain.nic.in/jeemain2013/Welcome.aspx ) excludes all those > who use standards compliant browsers like Firefox and Google Chrome > and makes the use of Microsoft Internet Explorer mandatory. > > The attached file documents the problem with handling admit cards on > the site with non IE browsers. > > This practice of favoring Microsoft preferentially (despite its > anti-freedom machinations, technical incompetence, noncompliance with > standards and dwindling user-base (see [6]-[8] and related links)) > suggests many things. Also any browser-specific 'lock-in' is a direct > violation of clause 7.6 (b) of 'Guidelines for Indian Government > Websites' ( > http://darpg.nic.in/darpgwebsite_cms/Document/file/Guidelines_for_Government_websites.pdf > ). > > "It is a MUST that Indian Government websites are tested for multiple > browsers and versions of browser, operating systems, connection > speeds, and screen resolution to ensure access by all" > > We (and all other honest people) will be pleased if you will take > appropriate remedial action in this regard. > > Thank and Regards > > A. Mani > > (On Behalf of the following FOSS Organizations) > > * > [1] Kolkata GNU/Linux Users Group > http://www.ilug-cal.info > http://www.iglug-cal.org > > [2] Free Software Movement of India > http://www.fsmi.in > > [3] Free Software Foundation of India > http://www.fsfi.org > > [4] FOSS Community Network of India > http://fosscomm.in/ > > [5] ILUG-Chennai > http://www.ilugc.in > > ___________________________________ > > [6] http://en.windows7sins.org/ > [7] > http://www.reddit.com/r/ragecomics/comments/11c1t1/internet_explorer_rfunny_said_i_should_post_it/c6lbhu2 > [8] > http://techrights.org/wiki/index.php/Microsoft_influence_in_the_Indian_government > [9] > http://techrights.org/wiki/index.php/Companies_That_Harm_Software_Freedom > > ___________________________________________ > > > > > > Best > > A. Mani > > > -- > A. Mani > CU, ASL, AMS, CLC, CMS > http://www.logicamani.in > > -- > -- > Mailing list guidelines and other related articles: > http://lug-iitd.org/Footer > > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Linux User Group @ IIT Delhi" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > > > -- Supreet Sethi Ph IN: +919811143517 Ph Skype: d_j_i_n_n Profile: http://www.google.com/profiles/supreet.sethi Twt: http://twitter.com/djinn -- -- Mailing list guidelines and other related articles: http://lug-iitd.org/Footer --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Linux User Group @ IIT Delhi" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
