Re: NFB Net goes linux!

["David Poehlman" <poehlman1@comcast.net>]

especially when the leader for their technology goes around talking
about wanting to keep their technology simple and affordable.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Ann Parsons" <akp@eznet.net>
To: <speakup@braille.uwo.ca>
Sent: Saturday, September 21, 2002 8:19 PM
Subject: Re: NFB Net goes linux!


Hi Darrell,

That's very true, Darrell, but what I'm objecting to is that the
original message in the thread stated that telnet and the BBS features
of their system would no longer be available.  This, I felt was short
changing some of their members, and I thought it was too bad.  I
wanted the techies to be more knowledgeable so that their members
wouldn't have to give up telnet or BBS access.

<smile>  No, I wasn't suggesting that the end users start using Linux
out of the box, not at all.  What I was hoping to see was some
evidence that they wanted to keep things as accessible as possible and
keep the change-over as seamless as possible, thereby not losing any
of their members.  Apparently, losing membership access is not
important.  I think that is a shame, especially when it is a consumer
based organization.  the offhand "we're sorry if this inconveniences
anyone..." is a callous and a noncaring way to treat people, any
people, and especially those who count on that particular means of
access.

For some, it may be their only way to talk with others and to learn
about the world outside their own surcomscribed lives.  I think that
the techies who run the machines at that organization would be
astonished at the kinds of people who access their services and if
they knew more about their constituency, they might not take such a
cavalier attitude toward scrapping the telnet and the bbs services.

I don't access their services, but as a netizen of some years, and one
familiar with online communities, I can safely say that this BBS,
whatever it is, is an online community and there are probably members
of that community who need it.  They may not be the vocal members,
they are probably the lurkers in the background who come on, take part
in the community and consider it to be their home.  There may be
others for whom this online community makes the difference between
sanity and not.

One doesn't destroy a community thoughtlessly with a paragraph or two
couched in pretty phrases, not unless an alternative is offered.

that is why the topic came up.  That is why I started this discussion.
That is why I wrote to the original poster of the forwarded msg to ask
about SSH to ask about alternatives.  I repeat.  You can not destroy a
community thoughtlessly.

Ann P.

sy>>>>> "Darrell" == Darrell Shandrow <nu7i@azboss.net> writes:

    Darrell> Hi Ann, Keep in mind that Linux is actually not
    Darrell> appropriate for most users, especially the command-line
    Darrell> interface.  Most people want their technology to be
    Darrell> simple to operate.  They're not interested in how the
    Darrell> computer works or anything of that sort.  They just want
    Darrell> to use it to get work done!


--
Ann K. Parsons
email:  akp@eznet.net ICQ Number:  33006854
WEB SITE:  http://home.eznet.net/~akp
"All that is gold does not glitter.  Not all those who wander are lost."
JRRT



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