Proposal

[D Clyde Williamson <dclydew@interhack.net>]

I would like to propose a shift in counter-FUD activities.

(Very Rough Draft)

I.	We Are A Community Service
	Our counter-FUD activities need to encompass all parts of our
community. This includes stuff that we individually may not like... like
FreeBSD for example. We need to represent the community, not our
opinions. (IE. DO NOT DRAG THE ESR/Bruce crap here... or the pro and
anti GNU/Linux stuff)

IIa.	The Best Defense Is A Good Offense	

	Responding line-by-line to FUD, such as the recent MS drivel, allows
Our opponents to manipulate us. We cannot permit this. One postitve
thing to do would be create the NO-FUD FAQ, this document would cover
the many standard FUD points (Swap Partitions, Memory, Journaling
Filesystem, etc., etc., etc.)

	We also need to collect positive case-studies from companies that use
Linux. Not just "Cedant uses Linux... Burlington Coat Factory uses it
too..." but real casestudies. Real case studies would include: 
	TCO reports 
	Interviews with CIO's etc. 
	Charts of servers currently in use and uptimes associated with them
	Cost of Training
	Etc.
	

	Once we have these types of resources, FUD like this can be deflected
by simply pasting a URL. This will keep emotional line-by-line diatribes
to a minimum. This will also create a resource for honest reporters to
create a FUD-Free checklist for their reports. 

	IIb.	We begin a Fud Free offensive aimed at MS and others. Good
examples would be factual reports about "Microsoft's Response To
Security Incidents", and "ActiveX Security Issues". Make Microsoft go on
the defense. Force them to explain themseves. 


Just a start, any comments?

dclydew
-
Fud-counter:  Setting straight the facts
Archive:      http://mail.nl.linux.org/lists/