Advocating the use of Linux (was RE: kclug - KCLUG?!?!?!)

[Mac]

I'm going to have to drop my two cents in here on this whole thread about
"bashing those who use MS" and "like it or not, kids, you live in a
Microsoft-dominated world".

I do agree that it is not right to throw flamage at a  LUG member just
because they are using MS products at home or at work.   Coming off as an
arrogant arse is no way of converting a MS user to Linux.  However, I do
think that it is the responsibility of a Linux advocate to warn others of
the implications of using MS products.  

For example, lets take this case of using MS Frontpage to design and
create the KCLUG website.  I fully understand how Frontpage can be used to
whip out a quick and functional website that can simply be ftp'd up to the
Linux server running Apache and it all sorta looks the same to a regular
user who wouldn't know any better.  But, what those that view the source
of the page see are these two tags implanted by MS Frontpage:

<meta name="GENERATOR" content="Microsoft FrontPage 4.0">
<meta name="ProgId" content="FrontPage.Editor.Document">

So, these are the tell-tale tags that let the viewer know this page was
generated with Microsoft FrontPage 4.0.  But do we really think that the
only purpose of these tags is to give this information to people viewing
the source?  Of course not.  Those that are familiar with the "meta" tag
know that it is usually used to give out information about the site for
use by search engines, web spiders and bots, and other 
"tracking" applications.  So, a spider or bot could pull up this page and
view the "GENERATOR" meta tag to find out this page was made by Micorosoft
Frontpage 4.0 and then report that information back to, oh, lets say,
Microsoft, where it would be compiled in with a lot of other data into one
of Microsofts propaganda paper which tells us that some greater
percentage of the websites out there today are made using MS Frontpage
4.0.  This data then gets sent out with the MS Salespeople and MS
Solutions Providers who lobby ISP's and hosting services pursuading them
to use MS IIS 4.0 which has MS Frontpage Extensions to aid the greater
percentage of its customers who are using MS Frontpage.  So, in a
roundabout, twisted way, one can see how using MS Frontpage to create the
KCLUG website has aided Microsoft in promoting and expanding its
proprietary software and create effective marketing tools which will be
used against competing products, such as Linux.

Some may say that this argument is twisted and bent to make MS look like
it would go to out of its way and to far reaches just so that they could
find another way to fight Linux.  The fact is that companies do go out of
their way and to far reaches to edge out competitors, that is how a
business becomes successful. MS does not stop at using meta tags
implanted by MS Frontpage to fight against the Linux community.  MS has
implemented this type of functionality in many of its products and the use
of these products effectively strengthens MS in its fight against
competitors.  

And now we have come to the part where I ask you, nicely, to, whenever
possible, stop using MS products.  Perhaps we do live in a 
Microsoft-dominated world, but that does not mean we have to like it and 
it certainly does not mean that we cannot do anything about it.

Mac Wisler <mac at grapevine.net>
(Feeling that I've probably just entered Stage #7 Linux Zealot)
"Now where are those stock options?!?"