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From Slackware3.5

Linux Advocacy mini-HOWTO

Paul L. Rogers, Paul.L.Rogers@li.org

v0.4, 6 February 1997

This document provides suggestions for how the Linux community can

effectively advocate the use of Linux.

1. About this document

This is the Linux Advocacy mini-HOWTO and is intended to provide

guidelines and ideas to assist with your Linux advocacy efforts.

This mini-HOWTO was inspired by Jon ``maddog'' Hall when he responded

to a request for feedback on guidelines for advocating Linux during

NetDay96 <http://www.netday96.com> activities. He responded

positively to the guidelines and observed that they were the basis of

a list of ``canons of conduct'' that would benefit the Linux

community.

This document is available in HTML form at

http://www.datasync.com/~rogerspl/Advocacy-HOWTO.html.

Nat Makarevitch <nat@nataa.fr.eu.org> is in the process of translating

this document into French.

Chie Nakatani <jeanne@mbox.kyoto-inet.or.jp> has translated this

document into Japanese <http://jf.gee.kyoto-u.ac.jp/JF/JF-

ftp/euc/Advocacy.euc>.

The author and maintainer of the Linux Advocacy mini-HOWTO is Paul L.

Rogers <Paul.L.Rogers@li.org>.

Comments and proposed additions are welcome.

If you need to know more about the Linux Documentation Project or

about Linux HOWTO's, feel free to contact the supervisor Greg Hankins

<gregh@sunsite.unc.edu>.

Greg Hankins will post this document to several national and

international newsgroups on a monthly basis.

2. Copyright Information

reserved.

A verbatim copy may be reproduced or distributed in any medium

physical or electronic without permission of the author. Translations

are similarly permitted without express permission if it includes a

notice on who translated it.

Short quotes may be used without prior consent by the author.

Derivative work and partial distributions of the Advocacy mini-HOWTO

must be accompanied with either a verbatim copy of this file or a

pointer to the verbatim copy.

Commercial redistribution is allowed and encouraged; however, the

author would like to be notified of any such distributions.

In short, we wish to promote dissemination of this information through

as many channels as possible. However, we do wish to retain copyright

on the HOWTO documents, and would like to be notified of any plans to

redistribute the HOWTOs.

We further want that all information provided in the HOWTOs is

disseminated. If you have questions, please contact Greg Hankins, the

Linux HOWTO coordinator, at gregh@sunsite.unc.edu.

3. Introduction

The Linux community has known for some time that for many

applications, Linux is a stable, reliable, robust (although not

perfect) product. Unfortunately, there are still many people,

including key decision-makers, that are not aware of the existence of

Linux and its capabilities.

If Linux and the many other components that make up a Linux

distribution are to reach their full potential, it is critical that we

reach out to prospective ``customers'' and advocate (being careful not

to promise too much) the use of Linux for appropriate applications.

The reason that many company's products have done well in the

marketplace is not so much due to the product's technical superiority

but the company's marketing abilities.

If you enjoy using Linux and would like to contribute something to the

Linux community, please consider acting on one or more of the ideas in

this mini-HOWTO and help others learn more about Linux.

4. Related Information

Lars Wirzenius, the comp.os.linux.announce moderator, also has some

thoughts <http://www.iki.fi/liw/texts/advocating-linux.html> about

Linux advocacy.

Linux International's <http://www.li.org> goal is to promote the

development and use of Linux.

The Linux Documentation Project

<http://sunsite.unc.edu/mdw/linux.html> is an invaluable resource for

Linux advocates.

The Linux Business Applications <http://www.m-tech.ab.ca/linux-biz>

site provides a forum for organizations that depend on Linux for day-

to-day business operations to share their experiences.

The Linux Advocacy Project's <http://www.10mb.com/linux/> goal is to

encourage commercial application developers to provide native Linux

versions of their software.

The Linux CD and Support Giveaway

<http://emile.math.ucsb.edu:8000/giveaway.html> program is helping

make Linux more widely available by encouraging the reuse of Linux CD-

ROMs.

Specialized Systems Consultants, Inc. (SSC) publishes the Linux

Journal <http://www.ssc.com/lj/> as well as the Linux Gazette

<http://www.ssc.com/lg/>, an online newsletter.

5. Advocating Linux

· Share your personal experiences (good and bad) with Linux.

Everyone knows that software has bugs and limitations and if we

only have glowing comments about Linux, we aren't being honest. I

love to tell people about having to reboot four times (three

scheduled) in three years.

· If someone has a problem that Linux may be able to solve, offer to

provide pointers to appropriate information (Web pages, magazine

articles, books, consultants, ...). If you haven't actually used

the proposed solution, say so.

· Offer to help someone start using Linux.

· Try to respond to one ``newbie'' posting each week. Seek out the

tough questions, you may be the only one to respond and you may

learn something in the process. However, if you aren't confident

that you can respond with the correct answer, find someone that

can.

· Seek out small software development firms and offer to make a

presentation about Linux.

· If the opportunity arises, make a presentation to your employer's

Information Technology group.

· Participate in community events such as NetDay96

<http://www.netday96.com>. While your first priority must be to

contribute to the success of the event, use the opportunity to let

others know what Linux can do for them.

· Always consider the viewpoints of the person to which you are

``selling'' Linux. Support, reliability, interoperability and cost

are all factors that a decision-maker must consider. Of the above,

cost is often the least important portion of the equation.

· Point out that the production of freely available software takes

place in an environment of open collaboration between system

architects, programmers, writers, alpha/beta testers and end users

which often results in well documented, robust products such as

Emacs, Perl and the Linux kernel.

· Report successful efforts of promoting Linux to Linux International

(li@li.org) and similar organizations.

· Find a new home for Linux CD-ROMs and books that you no longer

need. Give them to someone interested in Linux, a public library

or a school computer club. A book and its CD-ROM would be most

appropriate for a library. However, please be sure that making the

CD-ROM publicly available does not violate a licensing agreement or

CD-ROM is freely distributable. Follow up to make sure it is

available on the shelves.

· When purchasing books about software distributed with Linux, give

preference to books written by the author of the software. The

royalties that authors receive from book sales may be the only

monetary compensation received for their efforts.

6. Canons of Conduct

· As a representative of the Linux community, participate in mailing

list and newsgroup discussions in a professional manner. Refrain

from name-calling and use of vulgar language. Consider yourself a

member of a virtual corporation with Mr. Torvalds as your Chief

Executive Officer. Your words will either enhance or degrade the

image the reader has of the Linux community.

· Avoid hyperbole and unsubstantiated claims at all costs. It's

unprofessional and will result in unproductive discussions.

· A thoughtful, well-reasoned response to a posting will not only

provide insight for your readers, but will also increase their

respect for your knowledge and abilities.

· Don't bite if offered flame-bait. Too many threads degenerate into

a ``My O/S is better than your O/S'' argument. Let's accurately

describe the capabilities of Linux and leave it at that.

· Always remember that if you insult or are disrespectful to someone,

their negative experience may be shared with many others. If you

do offend someone, please try to make amends.

· Focus on what Linux has to offer. There is no need to bash the

competition. We have a good, solid product that stands on its own.

· Respect the use of other operating systems. While Linux is a

wonderful platform, it does not meet everyone's needs.

· Refer to another product by its proper name. There's nothing to be

gained by attempting to ridicule a company or its products by using

``creative spelling''. If we expect respect for Linux, we must

respect other products.

· Give credit where credit is due. Linux is just the kernel.

Without the efforts of people involved with the GNU project, MIT,

Berkeley and others too numerous to mention, the Linux kernel would

not be very useful to most people.

· Don't insist that Linux is the only answer for a particular

application. Just as the Linux community cherishes the freedom that

Linux provides them, Linux only solutions would deprive others of

their freedom.

· There will be cases where Linux is not the answer. Be the first to

recognize this and offer another solution.

7. User Groups

· Participate in a local user group. If one does not exist in your

area, start one. The Groups of Linux Users

<http://www.ssc.com/glue/> information page allows you to search

for a local user group and also contains suggestions on how to

start a user group.

· Make speakers available to organizations interested in Linux.

· Issue press releases about your activities to your local media.

· Volunteer to configure a Linux system to meet the needs of local

community organizations. Of course, the installation process must

include training the user community to use the system and adequate

documentation for ongoing maintenance.

· Discus the Linux Advocacy mini-HOWTO at a meeting. Brainstorm and

submit new ideas.

8. Vendor Relations

· When contemplating a hardware purchase, ask the vendor about Linux

support and other user's experiences with the product in a Linux

environment.

· Consider supporting vendors that sell Linux based products and

services.

· Support vendors that donate a portion of their income to

organizations such as the Free Software Foundation

<http://www.gnu.ai.mit.edu/>, the Linux Development Grant Fund

<http://www.li.org/About/Fund/Welcome.html>, the XFree86 Project

<http://www.xfree86.org/donations.html> or Software in the Public

Interest <mailto:bruce@pixar.com>. If possible, make a personal

donation to these or other organizations that support freely

available software.

· If you need an application that is not supported on Linux, contact

the vendor and request a native Linux version.

9. Media Relations

· Linux International is collecting press clippings

<http://www.li.org/Products/Articles/Welcome.html> that mention

Linux, GNU or freely redistributable software. When you see such

an article, please send the following information to

clippings@li.org:

· Name of publication

· Publisher's contact address

· Name of author

· Author's contact address

· Title of article

· Page number where the article starts

· The URL if available online

· A summary of the article, including your opinion

· If you believe that Linux was not given fair treatment in an

article, review or news story, send the details, including the

above information, to li@li.org so that an appropriate response can

be sent to the publisher. If you contact the publisher directly,

be professional and sure of your facts.

10. Acknowledgements

Grateful acknowledgement is made to all contributors, including:

Jon "maddog" Hall <maddog@zk3.digital.com>

Greg Hankins <gregh@cc.gatech.edu>

Eric Ladner <eladner@goldinc.com>

Chie Nakatani <jeanne@mbox.kyoto-inet.or.jp>

Nat Makarevitch <nat@nataa.fr.eu.org>

Martin Michlmayr <tbm@cyrius.com>

Idan Shoham <idan@m-tech.ab.ca>

Adam Spiers <adam.spiers@new.ox.ac.uk>

C. J. Suire <suire@datasync.com>

Lars Wirzenius <liw@iki.fi>