Open letter to Jo Baer

["Hedley Finger (EPA)" <Hedley.Finger@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dear Jo:

First of all, we ARE all grateful to Brad for transcribing John Warnock's
address for those of us worried about FrameMaker's future.  On the other
hand, providing it via a registration form and a CGI script as a locked
unprintable document is lacking a little in generosity of spirit, don't you
think?

>>>>>
Perhaps because these same
individuals make valuable contributions from time to time, Brad doesn't
boot many people from the list.
<<<<<

A little history.  framers formerly resided at framers@uunet.net (an alias
pointing to the list's real host) for at least the two administrators before
Brad.  I came in just before Phong Co took over.  The general spirit of the
list was that it belonged to us all and Phong generously and voluntarily
maintained it in this spirit.  I can never remember Phong banning ANYONE
from the list (except spammers harvesting addresses) -- usually his mild
admonishment, perhaps accompanied by a gentle spamking (yes, spelt
correctly) from members, was enough to discourage the unruly.

Many of us were uneasy when Brad took over.  First, the address was moved
and then the http://frameusers.com site was implemented.  Second, Brad
became rather proprietorial and in many ways behaved as though the list was
HIS.  It isn't, it belongs to all of us, and he is only the custodian on
behalf of the community.  Third, Brad gave a particular product rather
fulsome praise without revealing that he worked for the company that
manufactured it.  Fourth, Brad became rather too ready to ban people from
the list -- in particular, Dan Emory, who alternately delights and
infuriates all of us.  There is a simple remedy for this -- just set your
emailer's filter to trash any messages from people whose mail you don't
want.  Fifthly, many of us sense that FrameUsers is a little too close to
Adobe.

For these reasons, Jeremy H. Griffith, of Omni Systems Inc., started a rival
list at framers@omsys.com (send the message 'subscribe framers
yourID@your.dom.ain' to majordomo@omsys.com) as a corrective.  There Dan
rampages with his marvellously florid flames to entertain and inform us all.
And we can all act as Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition -- appreciative of
Adobe and FrameMaker but free to suggest how the company and product might
improve.  (Oooh! That hurt.  Us Australian republicans just lost a
referendum to change our constitutional monarchy into a republic.)

>>>>>
Third, I would like to thank Brad for all of his hard work running this
list. I suspected, and he has confirmed, that this is done in his "spare
time." Who among us has much of that? And subsidized by his company--are
any of you willing to do that? Probably not many.
<<<<<

Understand that we DO appreciate Brad's custodianship and the amount of his
own time spent on maintaining the list and the site.  Anyone who has any
knowledge of list administration and UNIX administration will know that it
can go off the air without warning.  But also remember that his company is
benefiting from continuing promotion and exposure.   And no-one is MAKING
him do this.  All of the framers hosts in the past donated their computers
and time to host this list, but ANONYMOUSLY and without any thought of gain
or advantage.

>>>>>
Fourth, I would like to thank Brad for making the Frame Users' conference a
success.
<<<<<

These are a terrific idea, as is the Web site.  Anything to raise the
profile of FrameMaker is worthwhile.

>>>>>
If you disagree with any of
my points strongly enough to flame me, please DO IT OFF LIST.
<<<<<

Why would anyone want to flame a perfectly nice person like you?  Just wish
I wasn't haunted by this gnawing ambivalence about Brad and FrameUsers.  It
would help if Dan was allowed access again.

[FrameMaker 5.5.3, Windows 98, HP OmniBook 2100]

Regards,
Hedley Finger
Technical Writer

Ericsson Australia Pty Ltd
StarHUB NMOSS Project
Level 34.66, Melbourne Central Tower
Elizabeth Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
Tel. +61 3 9301 6214
Cell. +61 412 461 558
Fax. +61 3 9301 6199
Email. hedley.finger@ericsson.com.au

Hand Holding Projects Pty Ltd
Tel. +61 3 9809 1229
Cell. +61 412 461 558
Fax. +61 3 9809 1326
Email. hfinger@handholding.com.au



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