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List:       kde-promo
Subject:    [kde-promo] [Important] When talking about Aegypten or Kroupware on fairs or to
From:       Marc Mutz <mutz () kde ! org>
Date:       2003-01-31 11:51:13
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... please _don't_ use the word "sponsor", "fund" or anything like that 
in connection with the BSI and these projects in general.

The correct term is "contract". This is important! Here's why:

1. A contract has to be fulfilled with all requirements. Else, the 
contracted party doesn't get any (or not all of the) money! OTOH, when 
"sponsoring", the control (of the sponsor) over the result is much 
laxer.

2. The fact that the BSI contracted (as opposed to merely "sponsored") 
parts of KDE is a sure sign that they want to actually _use_ it and 
don't do it primarily for PR reasons.

3. Finally, the BSI contracted a _solution_ for themselves to use. They 
didn't sponsor a Free Software Project. They'd get in much trouble with 
proprietary software vendors if they funded the development of an 
Outlook/Exchange replacement. It would be an interference with the free 
market that is prohibited under some laws or at least frowned upon by 
most, even Germans.

I hope you see that using the right term is extremely important if you 
want the BSI to stay able to contract further development (if they were 
found guilty of pt.3, that would be the end for the BSI's engagement 
with the Free Software community and a major drawback for Linux on the 
governmental desktop!)

This is esp. important for those of you writing dot stories and 
announcements. I was hoping that one such mail was enough, but 
obviously the same mistake slipped into the announcement/feature guide 
of 3.1 again (or was not corrected from the pre-releases), so be alert.

You should also contact authors of articles elsewhere if you spot this 
error in their articles (a recent example is the news.com article[1]).

Thanks for listening,
Marc

[1] which is already taken care of, hopefully.

-- 
If you read this Mail while moving in traffic, you could hit
lantern stakes or end up knocked over by trucks.
                       -- freely adapted from iX 11/2002 editorial

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