[odf-discuss] ODF Wikipedia page

[Lars D. Noodén]

Can we coax an official white paper out of MS?  If it's willing to let the 
format be judged on technical merits, then that should be available. 
Failing to do so implies that the format is unsound.

On Wed, 24 Jan 2007, Russell Ossendryver wrote:
...
> The sleez bag tactics of MS  paying to try get this page edited is all
> over the news wires, even CNN. Probably giving ODF the biggest boost
> ever :)

It's more sleezbag than it first appears.

First, it smears IBM and Wikipedia.  Accusation and then no followup by 
the pro-MS media.  The media and public can only handle one-offs and 
soundbites, so any discussion, correction or analysis is lost.

Second it takes the heat off of MS and has the press and the public 
questioning wikipedia.  Pretty much all MS defense tactics are like this, 
a variation of name calling:   "Oooh, oooh, ooh you just say Ecma372 is 
bad because you hate MS"  Not that there are many other options for 
MS, but name calling (formally ad hominem) does work for them so it is 
used.

Third it distracts from why MS was unsuccessful with the official channels 
wikipedia provides for dispute.  MS wasn't crying any tears this summer 
and autumn when it's shills were filling both ODF and Ecma372 pages with 
disinformation and speculation.

Fourth and perhaps most useful is that it distracts from the facts.  If MS 
had in fact published a white paper on Ecma372 or comparing Ecma372 to 
ODF, it would have been torn to pieces and caused utter embarrassment.

-Lars
Lars Noodén
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