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List:       ubuntu-users
Subject:    Community response of new ubuntu artwork
From:       list () ubuntuforums ! org (Ubuntu Forums Post)
Date:       2004-10-17 19:10:09
Message-ID: E1CJGPx-0004ps-1a () perseus ! lunarpages ! com
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This is not aimed at any previous post. I take time to do it because I think Ubuntu \
is worth the effort.

I'm 63, a retired newspaper editor, and I find this to be similar to something that \
sometimes happened in our profession. We referred to it as the "typo" syndrome. We \
would work extremely hard to produce a good newspaper, with stories and photos that \
would have the potential to inform or change things for the better. Everything was \
done correctly, except . . .

In the rush of meeting deadlines, someone might reverse some letters or words when \
they typeset a headline.

The public focus most often became the typo, clouding the usefulness of the \
informative, meaningful, good things that were the rest of the newspaper. We would \
all feel terrible, torn, disillusioned. Is this how people regard our work? we would \
ask. What point is there to strive for excellence when what people are really most \
concerned about is monitoring our mistakes.

Letters would pour in about what fools we were to make such an important issue \
trivial by allowing a typo in the headline. Phone calls would question our \
professional capabilities and say that the typo changed the meaning of the entire \
story.

We would feel terrible about our typo, even though we knew it was a mistake born \
within the passion to do the correct thing.

I would hate to think that the staff at Ubuntu now feels like we would feel on such \
occasions, that we tried so hard, did so well, but the nature of some humans to look \
for a weakness and exploit it had prevailed.

I am sure the artwork in Ubuntu is and will be reconsidered, now that such a \
firestorm has erupted -- the longest continuous post on the site, over the most \
easily-changed of all aspect of the distribution. But I am also sure that \
reconsideration would have taken place if all the remarks had been absent of \
challenge, threat, insult, or debasement of others who have gathered around this \
remarkable Linux platform.

I am from the USA, but I admire, among others, Nelson Mandela, who came out of prison \
with ample reason for vengefulness, but who chose reason as the best tool to make \
things better. I admire any person who, in the face of human challenge, smiles and \
says, "Let's work this out together. We can, you know."

Will you join me in trying to be such people, here and elsewhere? Please? If we \
don't, who will?

Ubuntu is a good thing.

Thank you for allowing me to speak again.

Toward peace,
Wil


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