Re: [Fwd: Re: [Fsfe-uk] BBC Article about Linux SCO and Copyrights - BBCcalls for statements (fwd)]

[Paul]

Hi,

> > A reply from Bill Thompson (the chap who did the SCO copyrights piece
> > for BBC Online)
> 
> (probably not nice to forward private emails to public lists, but I'll
> forgive you this once ;)

Thanks - given it was discussed on here for a while, I thought the list
would be interested in Bill's comments back. I didn't post my reply to
him but will if people want me to.

> I don't really see what he was responding to, although to be fair I very
> much doubt he will have received many constructive emails from people.

He did from me (well, did after he emailed me directly)

> He repeats his obvious lack of clue

Which was obvious in the original posting on the BBC website.

> I don't particularly see anything wrong with his article other than it
> was mostly mis-informed. 

Which does the Linux community as a whole no service at all. People
dithering about leaving the Windows platform will probably of had the
wrong impression from the article and that is really not good.

> The basic point (that "open source" developers
> should be careful wrt copyright) is okay, the conclusion (that they are
> not careful) is provable nonsense, and the supporting evidence is weak
> at best. 

But again, to the greater unwashed is likely to be taken as being
gospel. FUD at it's best (or is it worst?)

> Fair play to him. I know the BBC aren't the only people who do this;
> several well-known tech writers have admitted to me in private that they
> play Devil's advocate on a fairly regular basis. Take it for what it is,
> I guess.

There is nothing wrong per se for playing the Devil's advocate as long
as the information presented is correct and unbiased. The first is a lot
simpler to do than the second. However, the article, as presented on the
BBC website, is not really doing that. It is someone proporting to know
the facts and trying to get them across and in the process not doing the
BBC, the Linux community and possibly his reputation amongst the Linux
community any good.

TTFN

Paul
-- 
One OS to fool them all
One browser to find them
One email client to bring them all
And through security holes, blind them...