Richmond, rudeness and commercial enterprise

Richard Gaskin ambassador at fourthworld.com
Mon Aug 18 12:20:01 EDT 2003


Mathewson wrote:

> Yes, Alex Rice, you are quite right: my message is
> extremely rude!  I did not enjoy writing it...

Then why put yourself through that?

If your major were in communications that style would carry you far, but
only if you want a job in American foreign policy negotation.  ;)

...
> 1.  If RR is a commercial enterprise then it might like to
> consider rewarding developer contribs: the idea of FREE or
> not FREE can work in both directions.

Perhaps it might.  Had you considered writing a brief professional request
to RunRev directly before napalming the list?

Or better, since your school is deriving value from Rev and your good work
with it, might they find a way to finance a US$79 license?   They'd be
supporting the local economy at the same time.

> 2.  Rudeness.......I remember hearing about some aid
> workers in Ethiopia who gave out free orange juice to
> children: the parents would come and help the aid workers
> in a variety of ways.  Suddenly the aid workers started
> demanding money for the juice - one of them was killed by a
> prent of one of the children who had previously recieved
> juice.

The privilege of obtaining higher education at a good university is an
unimaginable dream for the sort of person your anecdote describes.

While the choice of pursuing upward mobility through such a degree does
carry its share of temporary hardships, bringing that story into the
conversation trivializes the abject poverty of the third world.

Nearly half of the world's people live every day of their short lives
without enough to eat.  Some of these people are here in the States, and
perhaps some in your community as well.

I'll wager that even the most resource-strapped university spends more on
catering a reception for a visiting lecturer than the cost of a Rev license.
Perhaps the business school could do a quick ROI calculation for the
purchasing department....

-- 
 Richard Gaskin 
 Fourth World Media Corporation
 Developer of WebMerge: Publish any database on any Web site
 ___________________________________________________________
 Ambassador at FourthWorld.com       http://www.FourthWorld.com
 Tel: 323-225-3717                       AIM: FourthWorldInc




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