[oclug] A new HOWTO

[Brad Barnett]

On Wed, 07 Sep 2005 18:22:30 -0400
"Michael W. Bazdell" <michael at baztech.ca> wrote:

> I do apologize to anybody who took this personally. I would like to
> point out that I'm very good natured and mean no disrespect to anybody.
> That being said, I did offer a solution in point 3. The purpose for the
> e-mail was not to antagonize or declare superiority, merely to show that
> these same topics come up far to often, and have no effect every time.
> Other than starting debates which lead to nowhere.
> 
> Again, please don't take this as a personal attack. I'm just trying to
> have a little fun while keeping things in perspective.
> 
> 
> On Wed, 2005-07-09 at 08:57 -0400, Bill Strosberg wrote:
> > Michael W. Bazdell wrote:
> > > 3) Believe that you'll actually change people's mind through a
> > > general e-mail instead of talking to the specific individuals who
> > > caused the
> 
> 
> > > problem.
> > Hmm, a response to David that:
> > 
> > a)	Hints at superiority;
> > b)	Fails to suggest any viable course of resolution;
> > c)	Manages to antagonize one of our best international Linux success
> > stories d)	Alienates one of the longest standing financial supporters
> > of OCLUG
> > 
> > Michael, unless you are significantly contributing more to the Linux
> > community than Roaring Penguin and David personally, I suggest a
> > public apology, and then complete silence as a course of action.
> > 

Sorry, I have to jump in here.

Free speech, in a free society, should not be censored or shot down due to
the standing one party holds in society.  All voices must be heard
equally.

Whether it be for riches, breeding, or any other form of "this guy is a
good guy" type of mentality, shooting down an opposing viewpoint on this
basis is nutty.  It encourages and strengthens our society's "pack" based
mentality.

Ideas must be argued on their merit, not on the merits of those speaking
them.

This is why point c and especially d are extremely irking.  Point D,
specifically, because it seems to indicate that monetary value carries
weight.. and point C because it indicates that fame might have the same
sort of leverage.

True democracy tries to eliminate these factors as important in the
decision process that a society uses to grow and govern itself with.

Anyhow, I'm sure you know this Bill, but sometimes we need to be reminded
of it.

So, while David does deserve our warm and heartfelt thanks for any
financial contribution he has made to OCLUG, this should certainly not
elevate him to some status above other members.  Further, while his
success has been quite nice to see, and galvanizing to others striving for
success in the OSS movement, it as well must be held as meaningless, when
debating his input against other members of OCLUG.





> > --
> > Bill Strosberg
> -- 
> Michael W. Bazdell <michael at baztech.ca>
> http://www.baztech.ca
> BazTech Solutions