Re: Will Debian grow and stay?

[Michael Z Daryabeygi <mzd@sligowebworks.com>]

He didn't throw a stick of dynamite!
His comment was about the media. not about politics.
You  were just a ticking time bomb.
You are so contradictory.  You claim that Curt was allowing the interpretation that Open Source is motivated by a Bin Laden like jihad against microsoft.  You were the one saying that we should be uniting against microsoft!
If you were worldly at all you would know that true muslims understand jihad in a way that does not allow for mass murder.  Bin Laden is not a muslim.
I can't understand how you are seeing curt's comments as bad for Free Software's public face.  You are the only fanatic i see in this case.
It is true that when one does not understand, the communicator is at fault.  But when conflicting statements are present, they should be contrasted.  That is the responsibility of journalism.  Curt's example was perfect for how this does not happen.  Bin Laden is clear that he is not against americans.  It is not about the american way of life, it is about our global politics.  You are confusing Bin Laden with the fanatical Iranian Shiites. (I am part Iranian, I am not a muslim)
The Bush admin LIED when they called it an offense against freedom.  The american people have a right to know why they were attacked so brutally.  And unfortunately they can't be expected to go to aljazeera's website themselves to hear Bin Laden's true message.

Linux is presenting a good face to the world.  HUGE steps have been made.
Sheer ignorance of Linux is the major problem, not some misconception of the individuals behind it.
Anyone on the street knows what M$ Windows is even if they don't know what an OS is.
Microsoft just has the louder voice.  They proved the point that market share is everything and features are only icing on the cake.  Linux is getting louder.  As users become more sophisticated, and there is no doubt they will (well maybe....), they will look beyond microsoft.  If Longhorn ever gets out of the shop we may have a (temporary) problem, but we really don't know until it does. 

And peanut butter and chocolate is darn good!
:)

Okay I'm done, this has gone to far.
I'd love to continue the debate off list.


William Ballard wrote:

On Tue, Nov 16, 2004 at 06:43:54PM -0500, Curt Howland wrote:
  

didn't even get political. I said that reporters and editors tend to 
miscomprehend motivations that they do not share themselves, even 
when repeatedly informed of what those motivations are. I then cited 
a present-day example that I assumed people would understand.
    

Choose a more appropriate domain from which to draw your examples.

You're making it very easy for reporters (i.e., your marketing message) 
to draw the conclusion that that what motivates Free Software is similar 
to what motivates Bin Ladin: some sort of jihadist attack on Microsoft.
You're playing right into their hands.

Don't go around throwing sticks of dynamite and complaing when they go 
off.

It's actually good you brought it up: because this kind of mixing 
chocolate and peanut butter is why Linux in general meets resistance.  
Linux has matured to the point where it needs to think about marketing 
itself to the world.  Prevent a positive message.

If a reporter fails to understand your message, that's not his fault.  
It's your fault for not presenting it correctly.