February 17th, 2008
Dear Pamela Jones:
As you must know this Stephen Norris take-over at SCO poses a real risk to groklaw - what happens to your business if IBM takes this opportunity to settle?
The basis for such a settlement is obvious: SCO works to open source everything, IBM makes good on costs - the only real question there is what happens with respect to Boies et al.
While I don’t think it likely that this will happen next week - not because IBM can hope to prevail in court, but because IBM’s senior management isn’t ready to make the decision yet - the threat to groklaw is clear. When the case ends, as it inevitably will, your role will end with it - and then what do you do?
As you know I disagree with the tone, emphasis, assumptions, and omissions in almost everything you write but also greatly admire how you’ve built and maintained the groklaw community. Thus I see the specifics of what you’ve done in whipping up anti-SCO sentiment as a disservice to the Linux community (not to mention truth, justice, and the American way) but also see the work, the strategies, and the commitment that’s gone into doing it as setting the standard for future attempts to use the web to further a cause.
And that’s really the spirit in which I’m writing this note: voting reform, expecially electronic voting reform, is a cause to which your skills, your commitment, your community, and your public persona could usefully and effectively be applied.
I know the technology, you know the law; I know where the legal research should start, you’ve got skilled researchers - together we’re the bipartisan dream team for fomenting (e)voting reform.
So lets work together - at the very least lets talk about what needs to be done and how the power you’ve built in groklaw can be used for good - oh, and if the thought of working with me is a little much for you, well if we can agree on a directions I’ll be perfectly okay with seeing you go off to find a more sympatico technical team to work with.
You’ve got my email - use it. Please.
Paul Murphy (a pseudonym) is an IT consultant specializing in Unix and related technologies. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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| 02/17/08
