Re: [Fsfe-uk] An ignorant question?

[Chris Croughton]

On Tue, Jun 10, 2003 at 09:47:35PM -0000, MJ Ray wrote:

> Chris Croughton <address@hidden> wrote:
> > The problem is that /at the moment/ there are a lot of people to whom I
> > can't recommend Free Software because they won't be able to use it [...]
> 
> This made me think of two things.  The first is that you should try not
> to prejudge people.  Some will exceed your expectations, while others
> will not reach as far as you thought.  Acting as a guardian or gatekeeper
> who only gives the good stuff to people who you think could cope is fraught
> with problems.

I'm talking about people who I know what they need because I have talked
to them and I know what they do and what their timescales are.  If they
lose a week's productivity, they won't have a job; if their productivity
goes down by 50% ditto.  For them it is not "the good stuff", it is not
as good as what they are already using (apart from any ideological
factors).

> The second was that you have to be careful when talking among friends just
> to suggest that they take a look at things that have worked well for you.
> Don't oversell it.  Be honest about the pros and cons.  Don't say it will
> solve all their problems, bring world peace and do the dishes, else you're
> setting yourself up for a hard fall.

That's exactly my point.  I am looking at what they actually want and
need to do and can see that it's not something which Free Software
(currently) provides.  This is why I still run a 'doze machine, because
there is nothing 'free' which matches Noteworthy Composer for what I
want to do with musical scoring (and my multi-UPS monitoring package was
so much easier to write in VB).

> I also know that I've done both on occasion, but I hope I've learnt my
> lesson ;-)

People who discover something new are usually the ones who are excited
and "everyone must do this".  Most grow out of it <g>.  Some,
unfortunately, go on to become fanatics, and that is the danger because
they are the ones whill often try to force things on people for whom it
is a suboptimal choice.

I could never be a salesman, for anything.  I can't tell a customer
"this is /the/ best thing" because I know full well that there is no
such animal, everything has drawbacks and is suboptimal for some people
and some purposes.  Horses for courses.

Chris C