[free-sklyarov] Give the EFF some credit

Monty R Manley mrmanley at home.com
Fri Jul 20 18:40:35 PDT 2001


I disagree with the EFF's decision to negotiate with Adobe, but we all need
to understand that these folks are not stupid, nor are they neophytes at
this kind of thing.  My disagreement stems from the fact that Adobe will
react like any other corporation in the face of such public outrage --
they'll slather on the PR thick and heavy, commit to nothing, and send the
EFF representatives off empty-handed.  Then they can claim a moral victory
later by saying, "Hey, we met with these guys!  We tried to come to an
agreement!"

We also need to understand that Adobe's minions are no doubt monitoring this
list *very* closely, and we need to affirm our solidarity with the EFF.
Like it or not, good or bad, they are the most visible, most public, and
most experienced organization involved in this whole affair so far.  They
are vital to the process, and they have so far acted with admirable honesty
and courage.  We need to back them up.

So: I disagree with the EFF's decision, but I will stand behind them.  I
will choke back my outrage for a short while and see if Adobe -- contrary to
my every expectation -- sees the error of their ways.  I will trust the EFF
to do the right thing.

This is not to say that my anger has cooled the least little bit.  If Adobe
thinks that this move in any way has moderated my opinion, they are badly
mistaken.  If they try to jive the EFF folks, they'd better get ready for a
firestorm.

Monty






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