Re: [DotGNU]third draft for FD press release

[Serge Wroclawski]

On Wed, 11 Jul 2001, Norbert Bollow wrote:

> Serge Wroclawski <address@hidden> wrote:
>
> > You don't see any point in keeping promises of exclusivity?
>
> I certainly have not made any promise of exclusitivy concerning
> this press release.  Probably nobody did.

Well, according to my friend, Tony did directly to him.

> When the media wants an exclusive interview, or an exclusive
> anything, they should pay for it (and thereby help funding Free
> Software developement).

ROFLMAO.

You want the press to pay for covering our company?

We want to spread our ideas, teaming up and giving a single source a day
ahead of the rest (ie we release it to them then the world a day later) is
smart for everyone.

It means we have an alli, someone who will cover us. If the audience is
big enough, this gives us eyeballs, which to the company will mean money.

It helps the media company as they have, for a time, the exclusive on a
story.


> Is it really such a big problem when a press release is old news
> to those who are sufficiently interested in a project to follow
> it closely?

Don't change the subject.

The issue is that a person was promised (or so told me he was promised)
that for a period of time (one day), they would get the exclusive press
release.

We (according to him) did not follow through, as copies of press releases
are widespread.

This is apparently not the first time this has happened with FD, and
subsequently FD ALREADY has a reputation for not keeping its word. This
has already hurt us, and if this trend continues, I suspect a number of us
(including myself) will leave as not to have our own professional
reputation tarnished by the actions of a few.

The solution to this is:

1) For the attitude of people in FD to be that this issue is very
serious. Luckily, a few people have responded to this effect.

2) To put mechanisms in place to prevent this as much as possible. This
may mean closed lists, signed papers, encryption, notices, etc; all things
a real company does to keep things secret.

- Serge Wroclawski