[oclug] News stories you won't see...

[Mark Harrison]

You are seriously claiming that buying closed-source software from a company
opposed to Linux is the moral equivalent of dumping raw sewage into the
watercourse?

For the hard of thinking, the purpose of my "spoof" was that this "Microsoft
is the enemy" talk is NOT the kind of moral argument that sways
decision-makers.

M.



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Francis J. A. Pinteric" <linuxdoctor at linuxdoctor.biz>
To: "General Membership Discussion List" <oclug at lists.oclug.on.ca>
Sent: Saturday, May 08, 2004 11:14 AM
Subject: Re: [oclug] News stories you won't see...


> On Sat, 8 May 2004 08:55:20 +0100
> "Mark Harrison" <Mark at ascentium.co.uk> wrote:
>
>
> > That's right - one of the most influential people in business IT in
> > Europe perceives the linux community as wanting to talk about "moral
> > issues" rather than actually whether Open/Free software can contribute
> > to his business.
> >
> > Taking attitudes like "we shouldn't talk to Microsoft - they are the
> > enemy" is, in my business experience, actually HARMING the cause of
> > trying to get Open software installed..
>
> You're talking apples and oranges here. The thread started out asking
> the question whether OCLUG should allow M$ to give presentations to us.
> While your scenario is interesting, and may even to true, it doesn't
> reflect OCLUG's business in the least.
>
> OCLUG has nothing invested in Microsoft technology, therefore nothing
> to gain and everything to lose from association with them. It is true
> that we tend to talk about moral issues, but we need to discuss these
> issues because it is obvious that many in the Open Source community
> will loose their focus otherwise.
>
> Rather than trying to make peace with Microsoft, which Microsoft has no
> intention of doing with us, we should step up our efforts to fight them
> at every turn. We can best do that by setting up businesses where we can
> offer other businessess who wish to convert a real and practical "Linux
> Conversion Experience" that works and is as painless as possible.
>
> I find it rather strange that you object to making business decisions on
> purely moral grounds. In your view then, cutting down the Brazilian rain
> forest is just fine because it's great for their economy, and closing
> sewage treatment plants and allowing raw sewage to be dumped into our
> rivers is great for cutting taxes.
>
> Sure, making business decisions on morals can be painful, if your were
> operating immorally in the first place. You can't get rid of sin simply
> by repenting, there is still the conversion and penance to do. They
> shouldn't have been doing business with the devil to begin with.
>
> >>>--fja->
>
> -- 
> "Mars is red because that way we could tell which one
> is which." -- 8 year old girl.
>
> Besides myself, there is no intelligent life in the universe.
> If humanity is the scale by which intelligence is measured,
> humanity is proof that there is no intelligence anywhere.
> -- 
> OCLUG general discussion list
> OCLUG at lists.oclug.on.ca
> http://www.oclug.on.ca/mailman/listinfo/oclug
>
>