Re: [OS:N:] Re: Open source in schools and then some

[Evan Leibovitch <evan telly org>]

On Thu, 5 Sep 2002, ekunin wrote:

> 4. This is an interesting thread to me, but it does not address my initial
> point which was how do we treat an active PTA mother who knows nothing about
> open source.

Yes, there was an original point here somewhere. And that was simply:

When doing advocacy, know your audience and tailor your message completely
to address their particular needs (and fears). To do that you need to do a
lot of listening before doing any talking.

My point if the thread so far is that, to people outside the realm of IT,
your advocacy explanation *must* have real and immediate value. The
philosophy can (and should) come later iff she's interested, but for now
you'll win her over only if you stay on the purely practical.  What's in
it for her, today, to make it worth her while to understand (let alone
advocate) open source and Linux?

You have to concentrate on the practical importance, that has direct
relevance to her, that _results_ from the more-theoretical benefits:

- Elimination of vendor lock-in

- Drastically reduced costs to procure

- Elimination of "license management" and associated infrastructure / costs

- Empowerment of people (who want to) to actually contribute to the
  computing environment

- Reduced costs to manage

- Extended life for older hardware

- Reduced threat of viruses and other sources of insecurity

- The user can choose the deployment model (fat client, thin cliernt, ASP
  model, etc) without following the path demanded by vendors


> She wants the best for the schools, but she doesn't want to use
> her clout on something that might eventually be perceived as foolish.

There's the big clue. She doesn't want to be perceived to be backing
something foolish, which would by association make _her_ look foolish.
OTOH, if she champions something that will in the long term make her look
courageous/prudent/etc, she'll be your friend forever and *then* be a good
candidate for the philosophy.

For the here and now you need to stick with the practical, which means you
must convince her of *both* the direct advantages of open source (some of
which I've mentioned above), *and* provide a little background to give her
comfort that she's not sticking her neck out on a new Betamax.

The first place to start with this, of course, is IBM. Huge company that
existed long before Linux (and indeed Microsoft), and absolutely rock
solid in support of Linux across its product line from PC to mainframe.
Then you can take her to websites such as http://www.hp.com/linux --
similar pages such as www.oracle.com/linux not only show how deeply Oracle
supports Linux, but describe success stories of how companies are finding
that using Linux was the Right Thing To Do; if not for the philosophy then
for cold business reasons.

At the educational level there are a great many resources describing why
Linux is a Good Idea. A good place to start is www.seul.org -- there she
will hear from her peers in the education field, which can be more
convincing than arguments coming from a purely IT perspective. And then
again, you have the safety in numbers and the ability to deflect potential
blame.

One of the reasons case studies are so popular, and so helpful, is because
they allow people to support Linux without feeling they're going out on a
limb. To some that kind of risk is a deal-breaker no matter how good the
technology is. So comfort, and strength in numbers, can be a more
convincing argument *in this context* than indignant talk about freedom
lost.

We can go around the block on capitalism and utopian ideals all day, but
none of that is going to convince your friend that promoting Linux is the
smart thing for *her* to do today. Find out what her concerns and fears
are, and address them in abundance (almost to the exclusion of all else).
If you get past this point *then* you can talk about *our* fears regarding
the erosion of rights and freedoms, but that's definitely not a short term
goal in this particular form of advocacy.

- Evan