Subject: Re: [lojban] New to lojban, any suggestions?

From: Andrew McDowell <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 15:42:49 -0500

On Mon, Aug 13, 2001 at 04:23:32PM -0400, [email-masked] wrote:
|: The analogy fails precisely because an MS program isn't like a pencil
|: (it's
|: more like a book but not quite that either, I suppose). Yes, if you
|: want to
|: do all those things, then don't buy MS programs. But if you do have
|: MS
|: programs then don't do those things either.

I think the complaint was made precicsly because he chose not to use MS 
products.

|: do and are quiet about it, getting on with their work. A tiny group
|: does not
|: and talks about it way too much, claiming vast superiority for their
|: pet
|: system -- but pretty generally not being willing to do what would make
|: that
|: system available (in a real,as opposed to a "Well, you can get it off
|: the
|: net," sense).

There are _many_ Linux distributions out there. Some of which you can 
buy convieniently online, at Best Buy, or even Wal-Mart. I think that's
pretty available.

|: Nor to make the advantages of this system or of
|: programs
|: running on this system available to people who, for whatever blind
|: reason,
|: refuse to change from MS.

As opposed to people who refuse to change to from Linux?
(and it's alot cheaper to switch to Linux)

|: But they are never shy about pooh-poohing
|: anything
|: that has worked for years longer than their system has been in
|: existence for
|: ten time the number of people who have even heard of their system.

Linux has been arround for 10-ish years, and UNIX for 40ish? (Correct
me if I'm wrong.) How long has DOS/Win95/WinNT/Win2k been arround?
And if sheer numbers of users is the hallmark of a good OS, then we
should be running something like VxWorks or one of the other embedded
OS's that power your bank teller, car, and gas pumps.

|: In practical terms this is bad planning on their part, since it
|: decreases the
|: probability that their system will eventually come to occupy a
|: significant
|: role for computer users generally. It is especially bad for Lojban,
|: since
|: our growth is almost entirely computer based and alienating 90% of
|: that base
|: is not a good strategy for growth.

According to most of the industry rags, Linux has the second fastest
growing market out there. Outpaceing it's competition (other Unixes)
by a factor of ~2, and passing MacOS for the number of total users.

I think Lojban would do well to imitate it's success.

|: As you say, some people use MS, some don't. Let's let each use what
|: they want
|: or need to use and try to accomodate them equally (we've gotten a lot
|: better
|: on that lately, by the way, with Robin -- for all his puffery -- doing
|: good
|: lead work) and not cast random asparagus on either side.

Here here.

-Drew