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Re: Q for candidates: the ALS issue



On Sun, Mar 10, 2002 at 04:05:23PM -0600, Chris Lawrence wrote:
> 1. What actions (if any) would you take at DPL to ensure that similar
>    problems do not recur in the future?

Manoj (who was there) and I (who was not) were both pretty steamed about
how Debian was treated at ALS 2001.

I proposed to threaten a boycott.  Essentially, to fight the battle with
USENIX in the press.

In frankness, however, a better approach would be for some USENIX
members to draft an open letter to the appropriate body or committee
within USENIX to ask them to address the issues before going on the
warpath, as it were.

This is a reactive stance, not a pro-active one, but if Debian gets a
reputation for not rolling over, we may make future conferences safer
for all non-profit organizations who seek to have a presence at trade
shows.

To date, unfortunately, I don't think anything at all has been done
about this, and that benefits no one.

> 2. What role do you see Debian playing at similar trade shows in the
>    future (whether organized by USENIX or not)?

The same role we traditionally have at ALS and LinuxWorld; as long as we
get our paperwork sent in on time (see section III of my platform), I
find it difficult to conceive of Debian's traditional role at the shows
as being anything but a success.

> 3. Should Debian continue to participate in activities organized by
>    USENIX and SAGE?  (I note that ALS is not listed as an upcoming
>    conference by USENIX at usenix.org, which suggests this may be a
>    moot issue.)

I think that depends on the stance the bodies are willing to take with
regards to NPOs in general and Debian in particular.

I think Debian should go where we we're welcomed, and make a lot of
noise about where we're not -- at least if other Unix vendors are
present at the same shows.

-- 
G. Branden Robinson                |      "To be is to do"   -- Plato
Debian GNU/Linux                   |      "To do is to be"   -- Aristotle
branden@debian.org                 |      "Do be do be do"   -- Sinatra
http://people.debian.org/~branden/ |

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