[ale] FWD: Southeast User Group Leaders Scummit

[aaron]

I need to apologize to Stephen here, as I know he was
simply trying to be helpful in calling attention to
this user group confab opportunity.

My comments aren't meant as a slight to him or his
choice to be involved. I am just expressing why I
won't be accepting the invitation on behalf of ALE
or otherwise participating.

On 2009, Sep, 09, , at 2:34 PM, Stephen Cristol wrote:
> On Sep 9, 2009, at 3:03 AM, aaron wrote:
>> According to the site, this event is
>> "Hosted by [Mafia$oft]".
>
> True. Microsoft is also a sponsor.
>
>> To me, that is a guarantee that the summit will
>> only amount to a Windisease commercial promotion
>> scam for enlisting gullible dupes to advertise and
>> spread the viruses that make the M$ thugs wealthy
>> without having to pay those zombie slaves any
>> share of the the ill gotten loot from their
>> labors.
>
>
> So the new certainties in life are death, taxes,
> and Microsoft will pollute everything it touches?

Given the incompetent products and consistently
fraudulent and corrupt business practices of their
30 year history, I'd say yes... it's a death and
taxes certainty that Mafia$oft is totally toxic
and corrosive to everything it touches. Just look
at their latest caustic activities in the fraudulent,
intentionally incompatible anti-implementation of
the ODT standards or the network file access protocol
extensions of FistYa7 that serve the sole purpose
of crippling SAMBA, and then try to tell me this
isn't so.

> I missed that update. Maybe I need a new crystal
> ball.

Wouldn't that be a _Cristol_ ball?? ;-)

> Corporate sponsorships are often self serving.
> So what?

Actually, corporate sponsorships are ALWAYS self
serving. In this case, the sponsoring corporation
is a pack of criminal thugs that, in my view, is
unworthy of anyone's patronage or support at any
event they would serve themselves by sponsoring.

> The upcoming Atlanta Linux Fest is hosted by a
> company with its own checkered past. That company
> is now a good friend to the open source community.
> Should we forgive past transgressions? How long do
> we have to wait before that is morally acceptable?

In the case of Mafia$oft, it is really impossible
to forgive transgressions as "PAST" when they are
ongoing in the PRESENT and the transgressors have
never stopped for even one bleeding second.

> Oh, one more thing...O’Reilly Media is a supporter
> of this event. But what have they ever done for user
> groups? You know, besides the free books, the
> discounts, and the conferences.

I very much appreciate O'Reilly's quality products,
ethical business practices and long standing support
of Free Software communities, as I've shown through
several hundreds of dollars in O'Reilly literature
purchases over the years.  Unfortunately I find that
Mafia$oft's involvement in this "summit" event
thoroughly compromises and undermines O'Reilly's
sponsorship effort.

peace
aaron