Linux Advocacy mini-HOWTO by Paul L. Rogers (learn to read activity book TXT) 📖

Chief

Executive Officer. Your words will either enhance or degrade the

image the reader has of the Linux community.

 

· Avoid hyperbole and unsubstantiated claims at all costs. It’s

unprofessional and will result in unproductive discussions.

 

· A thoughtful, well-reasoned response to a posting will not only

provide insight for your readers, but will also increase their

respect for your knowledge and abilities.

 

· Don’t bite if offered flame-bait. Too many threads degenerate into

a “My O/S is better than your O/S” argument. Let’s accurately

describe the capabilities of Linux and leave it at that.

 

· Always remember that if you insult or are disrespectful to someone,

their negative experience may be shared with many others. If you

do offend someone, please try to make amends.

 

· Focus on what Linux has to offer. There is no need to bash the

competition. Linux is a good, solid product that stands on its

own.

 

· Respect the use of other operating systems. While Linux is a

wonderful platform, it does not meet everyone’s needs.

 

· Refer to another product by its proper name. There’s nothing to be

gained by attempting to ridicule a company or its products by using

“creative spelling”. If we expect respect for Linux, we must

respect other products.

 

· Give credit where credit is due. Linux is just the kernel.

Without the efforts of people involved with the GNU project

(http://www.gnu.org/gnu/linux-and-gnu.html), MIT, Berkeley and

others too numerous to mention, the Linux kernel would not be very

useful to most people.

 

· Don’t insist that Linux is the only answer for a particular

application. Just as the Linux community cherishes the freedom that

Linux provides them, Linux only solutions would deprive others of

their freedom.

 

· There will be cases where Linux is not the answer. Be the first to

recognize this and offer another solution.

7. User Groups

· Participate in a local user group. An index

(http://www.linuxdoc.org/links/#lug) of Linux User Group registries

is part of the Linux Documentation Project

(http://www.linuxdoc.org/). If a user group does not exist in your

area, start one.

 

· The Linux User Group HOWTO (http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/User-Group-HOWTO.html) covers many of the issues involved with starting

an user group and discusses the importance of Linux advocacy as one

of the goals of a user group.

 

· Make speakers available to organizations interested in Linux.

 

· Issue press releases

(http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/~conradp/linux/pr/) about your

activities to your local media.

 

· Volunteer to configure a Linux system to meet the needs of local

community organizations. Of course, the installation process must

include training the user community to use the system and adequate

documentation for ongoing maintenance.

 

· Discus the Linux Advocacy miniHOWTO at a meeting. Brainstorm and

submit new ideas.

8. Vendor Relations

· When contemplating a hardware purchase, ask the vendor about Linux

support and other user’s experiences with the product in a Linux

environment.

 

· Consider supporting vendors that sell Linux based products and

services. Encourage them to have their product listed in the Linux

Commercial HOWTO (http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/Commercial-HOWTO.html).

 

· Support vendors that donate a portion of their income to

organizations such as the Free Software Foundation

(http://www.gnu.org/help/help.html), the Linux Development Grant

Fund (http://li.org/li/fund/grants.shtml), the XFree86 Project

(http://www.xfree86.org/donations.html) or Software in the Public

Interest (http://www.debian.org/donations.html). If possible, make

a personal donation to these or other organizations that support

opensource software (http://www.opensource.org/). Don’t forget

that some employers offer a matching gift program program.

 

· If you need an application that is not supported on Linux, contact

the vendor and request a native Linux version.

9. Media Relations

· Linux International is collecting press clippings

(http://www.li.org/li/resources/pressclippings.shtml) that mention

Linux, GNU and other freely redistributable software. When you see

such an article, please send the following information to

clippings@li.org:

 

· Name of publication

 

· Publisher’s contact address

 

· Name of author

 

· Author’s contact address

 

· Title of article

 

· Page number where the article starts

 

· The URL if available online

 

· A summary of the article, including your opinion

 

· If you believe that Linux was not given fair treatment in an

article, review or news story, send the details, including the

above information, to li@li.org so that an appropriate response can

be sent to the publisher. If you contact the publisher directly,

be professional and sure of your facts.

 

· If you involved with a Linux related project, issue press releases

(http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/~conradp/linux/pr/) to appropriate news

services on a regular basis.

10. Acknowledgements

Grateful acknowledgement is made to all contributors, including:

 

Kendall G. Clark (kclark@cmpu.net)

 

Wendell Cochran (atrypa@eskimo.com)

 

Bruno H. Collovini (buick@microlink.com.br)

 

Allan “Norm” Crain (allanc@idea-inc.com)

 

Jon “maddog” Hall (maddog@zk3.digital.com)

 

Greg Hankins (gregh@cc.gatech.edu)

 

Eric Ladner (eladner@goldinc.com)

 

Chie Nakatani (jeanne@mbox.kyoto-inet.or.jp)

 

Daniel P. Kionka (dkionka@worldtalk.com)

 

Nat Makarevitch (nat@nataa.fr.eu.org)

 

Martin Michlmayr (tbm@cyrius.com)

 

Rafael Caetano dos Santos (rcaetano@dijkstra.ime.usp.br)

 

Idan Shoham (idan@m-tech.ab.ca)

 

Adam Spiers (adam.spiers@new.ox.ac.uk)

 

C. J. Suire (suire@datasync.com)

 

Juhapekka Tolvanen (juhtolv@silmu.cc.jyu.fi)

 

Lars Wirzenius (liw@iki.fi)

 

Sean Woolcock (sbwoolco@eos.ncsu.edu)