Re: [Bug-gnupedia] Content Format

[Tom Chance]

First of all, by imposing our philosophies on the way
GNE runs, we are making the site biased, ad hoping the
content will eventually not be. Now I know we cannot
allow .gif files for patent reasons, and I strongly
agree with that. But we can't start saying no M$Word
files, or no ClarisWorks files, just because we as a
group don't like them. Nor can we write something on
the front saying "Please don't use M$Word, we don't
like it because...". That would be putting a terrible
bias on the site that we can do without. We can
encourage people to not submit word files on the
submission form, for translation reasons, but we can't
make GNE anti-M$.

I'm against M$ as much as any of us, perhaps, but we
can't let our prejudices permutate into the project in
this matter. It must be a project open to all spheres,
or we are being as judgemental and "editorial" as
Britannica and Grolier and Encarta etc. just clamping
down on a different thing to them.

We must let people submit Word files, and any other
files that won't get us into LEGAL trouble.

Tom Chance


--- Mike Warren <address@hidden> wrote: >
Rajarshi Guha <address@hidden> writes:
> 
> > But if people are going to use Word then they
> obviously are going to
> > be using the .doc format - what you're saying in
> effect is that
> > people have to stop using Word - philosophically I
> am in totl
> > agreement. But in the real world thats simply
> impossible (or *very*
> > difficult at the minimum)
> 
> Yes, it is difficult to get people to change their
> minds, and
> especially difficult to get non-technical people to
> realize what they
> are giving up when using Word (since even if they
> had the source, they
> wouldn't know what to do with it).
> 
> This doesn't mean, however, that we must accept Word
> files for that
> reason alone. Different solutions exist which don't
> *require* anyone
> to stop using Word.
> 
> -- 
> address@hidden
> <URL:http://www.mike-warren.com>
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> 1087 0884 5799 11BD
> 
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