[Novalug] [Dclug] [Ma-linux] [FOSE] Starting the discussion

[Kevin Cole]

[Leaping into the flames, with "youthful indiscretion"...]

An exhibit floor with high traffic doesn't leave a lot of time for
"message".  Carnival barking is more the order of the day. "Ladies and
Gentlemen, Boys and Girls! Step right up and see the 9th Wonder of the
Computing World! Watch in amazement as..."

Once you get the suckers, er, patrons... yeah, that's the ticket...
patrons, into our side show, then you can ply them with swag and
printed propaganda that explains the philosophy as well as any
practical benefits you aren't able to show in the 15 seconds you have
their attention.  It's a big tent, and we're only a small freak show
within it.  There's the snake boy in the next row, and the fortune
teller not far away competing for our audience's attention.  The
audience is definitely not captive, nor should it be.  Free as in
"free to walk away from the ranting lunatic who's spouting some
religious claptrap about the evils of Microsoft and proprietary stuff
that I don't understand". ;-)

I don't think it's possible to get "Free" or "FLOSS" across in a sound
bite, but I think it's important to get the message out there somehow.
 What about a "Why we volunteer" message?  How many groups are there
who are non-profit, not selling anything?  There's Web Women always
close at hand, but who else besides them and us?  Any idea?  The
volunteer aspect may be the way to encourage people to think about why
we're handing out things gratis...  The for profits have their swag,
so it has to be made clear that our stuff is given, not with the hope
that we'll be able to sell something later, but with the hope that
they will want to contribute time and effort to the growth of
something we've all found so useful that we contribute. No?