Hmm... maybe you'd like to explain your recent blog entry<br><br>here http://twitter.com/garyshort<br><br>and quote<br>'<br><span class="entry-title entry-content"> Wow, the morons on the Linux list are worse than the morons on CodeProject, how is that possible?! </span> <span class="meta entry-meta"> <a href="http://twitter.com/garyshort/statuses/613397672" class="entry-date" rel="bookmark"><abbr class="published" title="2008-01-18T12:50:42+00:00">12:50 PM January 18, 2008</abbr></a> from web<br><br>and<br><br></span><span class="entry-title entry-content"> Good morning Twitterati. I went to a Linux user group meeting last night. Wow, never met such a bunch of tin-foil-hat-wearing loons :-) </span> <span class="meta entry-meta"> <a href="http://twitter.com/garyshort/statuses/612862912" class="entry-date" rel="bookmark"><abbr class="published" title="2008-01-18T09:22:24+00:00">09:22 AM January 18, 2008</abbr></a>
from web</span><br><span class="meta entry-meta">'<br><br>Arron, I think he's talking about you ;-).<br><br>If you define morons as 'those with a informed views that can be backed up with fact' them, I'm as crazy as a FOX to you...I'll be staring at the moon all night.<br><br>you'll notice, this was even before I'd 'debated' the OLPC topic with you.<br><br>Interesting, being called a Moron, and a Loon. Maybe you can share<br>with us why you though we we're loons? What exactly got put your<br>nose out of joint.<br><br>I think this post speaks for itself. You've closed your mind. your mind is closed,<br>I can't possible teach you anything, unless your willing to accept new concepts and new ways of doing things?<br><br>You've just lost a great opportunity to learn new things from me, and me from you and that's a real shame, and somewhat disappoints me.<br><br>just for that, I'm now going to have to deploy the secret
weapon.<br><br>http://home.loercks.net/unsortiert/microsoft_angepinkelt.jpg<br><br>there you go, you made me do it...<br><br>and now we are laughing... at the picture, not at you. ;-)<br><br>as Yoda would say<br><br></span><font style="font-size: 10pt;" arial="" sans="" serif="" face="helvetica,"><font style="font-size: 10pt;" arial="" sans="" serif="" face="helvetica,"><font style="font-size: 10pt;" arial="" sans="" serif="" face="helvetica,"> <i>Yoda (Frank Oz):</i><br> <b>"You must unlearn what you have learned."</b> <br></font></font></font><span class="meta entry-meta"><br><br>Laters,<br>Lee<br>'.net may turn you into a .nit'<br><br></span><br><b><i>Gary Short <gary@garyshort.org></i></b> wrote:<blockquote class="replbq" style="border-left: 2px solid rgb(16, 16, 255); margin-left: 5px; padding-left: 5px;"> Arron M Finnon wrote:<br>> Look guys i'm going to get in the middle. This has blown up out of<br>> proportion and i think i'm not going to be the
only one here hoping<br>> people stand back for a moment.<br><br>No need to worry Arron, just a few guys tossing a few ideas around. No <br>harm being done here. :-)<br><br>> In Lee defence he didn't call you a troll Gary, that i believe was Kris<br>> in his post. <br><br>Yes it was Kris, but Lee referred to the "trolling" that was going on, <br>so I took that to mean he agreed with Kris.<br><br>> However you implied that Lee was paranoid in yours, and<br>> should take off his tin foil hat, in the end, by your definition Gary,<br>> you posted something that would be fair to say would cause controversy<br>> and get a reaction.<br><br>I did use the term tin foil hat but, as I explained, I used the term as <br>a colourful way of describing dogma, I didn't say anyone was paranoid. <br>Is dogma too strong a word? Well maybe, but I posted the idea that that <br>the answer to education in the developing world was more teachers not <br>laptops; and Lee and
Kris basically came back with "Microsoft sucks". <br>Which, if you hold that idea is fine, but it has nothing at all to do <br>with the topic I was posting on. Now maybe that's not dogma, but if its <br>not, what is it? Anyway, forget all that, I believe in attacking a bad <br>arguement, not attacking the person making it.<br><br>> I actually think that you two would get on. <br><br>Of course we would. We are both grown ups, just because we have <br>different opinions doesn't mean we're going to hate each other. :-)<br><br>> However Gary you going to have to understand that there is going to be a<br>> level of M$ bashing, and it's not like people on this list have not<br>> worked with, or used M$ and are entitled to call their products whatever<br>> they like. I'm pretty sure that Ballmer and Gates won't really mind.<br><br>I've got two points here. Firstly, why do I have to accept there is <br>going to be a level of MS bashing? I help run a .Net user
group in <br>Dundee, there's a few Linux guys turn up to it ('cos at the end of the <br>day we're all techies right?) but I wouldn't expect them to have to put <br>up with a level of linux bashing, I mean the thought wouldn't enter our <br>heads to start slagging off their choice of tools, why is it different <br>in your group? Secondly, even if I accept that there is going to be a <br>level of MS bashing, what does MS have to do with the point I was <br>making? I mean, I didn't post that the OLPC was a load of rubbish and <br>that it should run an MS OS and software. I made no comment on the <br>technology at all; what I said was the concept was wrong if what you <br>wanted was a sustainable program for developing world education. Now, if <br>you think OLPC is the best way to go, then I'd expect you to come back <br>with arguements as to why that is, but almost the first reply that came <br>back was "Microsoft sucks!", which just struck me as well, odd really.<br><br>>
So i am not going to get involved in this flame anymore than this, i<br>> also encourage people to do the same, this is not what we signed up for<br>> and we are a friendly community. This doesn't help anyone.<br><br>I agree, which is why I've continually tried to steer the conversation <br>back to laptops vs teachers and away from "my God is bigger than your <br>God" type OS religious wars.<br><br>> So if your still prepaired to discuss your points Gary (i'll understand<br>> if you don't). I would ask pound for pound what else could be done with<br>> the money in these countries bearing in mind it's going to be a hell of<br>> a lot less than a $100 dollars per head?<br><br>Of course I'm still prepared to discuss my points, that's what we are <br>all here for right? Okay, what would I do? First, let's get the <br>ecconomics right. Its not $100 per head. Okay that's the price of the <br>end unit, but the development of the concept and the product is a
<br>muliti-million pound endevour. You can't tell me that for those millions <br>you couldn't put real teachers in front of the kids in these villages. <br>That's where the real value lies if you want a sustainable education <br>program.<br><br>Secondly, why is it okay for us in the developed world to require more <br>teachers and reduced class sizes when we feel our education system is <br>not all it should be, but the kids in the developing world don't deserve <br>the same? We demand more teachers for our kids, but not for them. Why is <br>that? If laptops are the best solution for education, why are we not <br>rolling them out to all pupils in the UK? The answer is because <br>educationalist know that the best way to educate kids is with teachers <br>and for the millions that the development of the OLPC scheme has cost, <br>you could provide a hell of a lot of teachers.<br><br>> <br>> Yours hoping that neither Lee or Gary is too peeved with me.<br><br>Not at all,
friendly debate never hurt anyone ;-)<br><br>-- <br>Gary<br>http://www.garyshort.org<br><br><br>_______________________________________________<br>dundee GNU/Linux Users Group mailing list<br>dundee@lists.lug.org.uk http://dundee.lug.org.uk<br>https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/dundee<br>Chat on IRC, #tlug on dundee.lug.org.uk<br></blockquote><br><p> 
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