Re: Working with standards (was Re: Oops, forgot...)

[Colin Watson <cjwatson@debian.org>]

On Wed, Oct 10, 2001 at 03:28:42PM -0700, Ben Hartshorne wrote:
> And he does have a point.  The anti-M$ sentiment has led to a number of
> comments on this list that, were I thinking of transitioning to Linux,
> would deter me from doing so because self-righteousness is rarely very
> friendly.

I couldn't agree more. Despite not having used a Microsoft product in
any seriousness in years, the whole rabidly anti-Microsoft attitude
really bugs me sometimes, and I shudder to think how it must look to
people not involved in and used to this community sometimes.

I'd suggest that everybody involved should read the Advocacy mini-HOWTO,
particularly chapter 6 "Canons of Conduct". If you install the
doc-linux-html package, it's in
/usr/share/doc/HOWTO/en-html/mini/Advocacy.html (and a similar place in
the doc-linux-text package). For example:

     * Focus on what Linux has to offer. There is no need to bash the
       competition. Linux is a good, solid product that stands on its
       own.
     * Respect the use of other operating systems. While Linux is a
       wonderful platform, it does not meet everyone's needs.
     * Refer to another product by its proper name. There's nothing to be
       gained by attempting to ridicule a company or its products by
       using ``creative spelling''. If we expect respect for Linux, we
       must respect other products.

Cheers,

-- 
Colin Watson                                  [cjwatson@flatline.org.uk]