Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1999 21:48:12 -0600 From: Jon Hamilton <hamilton@pobox.com> To: Brett Glass <brett@lariat.org> Cc: chat@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: GPL issues (Was: More important Windows Refund Day coverage) Message-ID: <19990223034812.F1E4745C1A@pobox.com> In-Reply-To: Your message of "Mon, 22 Feb 1999 20:25:50 MST." <4.1.19990222201937.00977b90@mail.lariat.org>
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In message <4.1.19990222201937.00977b90@mail.lariat.org>, Brett Glass wrote: } At 09:16 PM 2/22/99 -0600, Jon Hamilton wrote: } } >} Gee, I guess I'm also "hurting" my neighbors by not giving them my } >} car, my house, and the contents of my bank account. } > } >You'll convince more people to see things your way if you dial back the } >antagonism several dozen notches and make your points in a calm manner } >without the needless rhetoric. There is some substance behind your } >position, but you're unlikely to sway anyone by insulting them and } >metaphorically kicking them in the head. } } Er, "Boot to the head?" ;-) } } Seriously, though, I know I verge on the sarcastic side here. I'm I suggest to you that referring to your delivery as "verg[ing] on the sarcastic side" is a good submission for understatement of the month. Several people on the list have indicated that they feel your approach is outright overbearing and unproductive (perhaps even counter productive), and I agree. } doing so to point out the silliness of the argument being presented. A better approach might be to calmly point out why you feel the argument is silly, rather than engaging in shill hysterics. People generally respond much better to rational arguments than sarcasm, hysteria, or insults. } Alas, I have found that very few adherents of the GPL are willing to listen } to critiques of it (this one in particular seems to be at the extreme end Given the style of your writing on the lists, I'd frankly be surprised if more than a small percentage of your audience took anything you said particularly seriously. The only thing you're going to accomplish by going about it the way you have is to alienate not only those who disagree with you, but many of those who agree with you as well. Shrinking your audience doesn't serve to make your point. } of the spectrum, having expressed the belief -- as Stallman does -- } that the concept of intellectual property is evil). I'm not } very hopeful that this person will listen -- but I figure my best chance } is to show him just how extreme and untenable a stance he's taking. You can do that without berating him with vitriolic ranting. Yes, there _are_ people who won't be swayed no matter which argument you put forth, but you'd do better to argue calmly and at least convince them that yours is a worthy position with which they disagree than by insulting them and shouting at them. Are you really trying to change peoples' minds, or are you just shouting because it makes you feel good? If the former, I don't think your methods suit your purpose particularly well. -- Jon Hamilton hamilton@pobox.com To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-chat" in the body of the message
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