On Fri, 2003-02-21 at 15:20, Jason Greenwood wrote: > While I agree, I think it's important to get "too worked up" when > public officials gratuitously waste public funds in the attempt to > cover their ass. I don't think it's too over the top to at least write > emails as I do. What do you think??
I agree we need to get worked up - 'too' worked up, though, leads to undiplomatic language which is self-defeating. If I were a relative non-expert having to make this sort of decision, I'd be put off by phrases such as "proven illegal and predatory monopoly tactics" and "illegal foreign monopolist". (My understanding of how municipalities work is that many decisions that you'd think would be technical and made by technical advisors, actually have a political component.) Step back from the medium of e-mail for a moment and imagine you're attending the next New Plymouth District Council meeting to speak for 5 minutes to a petition to consider OS software for XYZ project. You'll want to make a very calm, reasoned, pithy argument. Appearing angry will blow your prospects. You want the councillors and their technical advisers to think that, basically, you're one of them. It's useful, too, to be a 'local' when dealing with local politics. (Also, a decision that may seem obvious from the overall 'macro' perspective of the future of computing may not be so clearcut from the 'micro' perspective of a given project in a given place.) You've obviously made some progress in CHC in getting OS accepted into the public sector, good on you. But you've got the resources of a good university and an organised Linux community there. I don't see any listing for a Taranaki Linux User Group. Are there any OS advocates in Taranaki? How do we find them, support them and encourage them to make their voices heard at the political level? How do we get involved in these sorts of decisions before they're made? My apology in advance for a) rambling and b) any offence I may have inadvertently caused. =====Andrew
