[free-sklyarov] Announcement: FLYER DISTRIBUTION AT THIS WEEK'S 2600 MEETINGS

[mike castleman]

Link: http://www.2600.com/news/display.shtml?id=619

For those who've never been before, 2600 meetings are held worldwide
on the first Friday of every month. A list you can use to find the
meeting nearest you is at http://www.2600.com/meetings

As worldwide support grows in the case of jailed Russian programmer
Dmitry Sklyarov, 2600 is calling upon attendees at all of this
Friday's meetings to distribute information about the case.

We urge every meeting to print up a number of flyers (which can be
downloaded at http://www.tabinda.com/freedmitry/) and distribute them
after the meeting. Everyone is urged to show up and participate. Bring
your friends, connect with existing Free Dmitry activists in your
area, spread the news to any organization of which you are a part, and
join us in pushing for Dmitry's freedom. We find that once people are
made aware of the facts of the case, they become as outraged as we
have.

Join us this Friday! Svobody Dime!

TIPS FOR HANDING OUT FLYERS

First, make sure you make the flyers distinctive by printing on
colored paper if at all possible. The quickest way to do this is to go
to a copy shop. Get several hundred at the very least - you WILL go
through them quickly. Make sure you can print more if you need
them. It is also helpful to put local contact information if
possible. Check freesklyarov.org to see if there is a website or
mailing list for your area.

Familiarize yourself with the facts of the case as presented on
freesklyarov.org. It's important to be able to answer questions of
people who are interested in learning more. It is also important to be
able to summarize the issue quickly to maintain people's
attention. You should emphasize the fact that Sklyarov's program is
not designed to make copies of encrypted PDF files, as well as the
fact that he was arrested in the US for something he did in Russia,
where it is legal. One effective point to make is to point out that
blind people have used ElcomSoft's product to bypass the restriction
on text-to-speech programs that some eBook sellers have put in place.

We find that people respond well to "Protect Your Rights" as a catch
phrase to get them to take the flyer. Let us know if others work for
you. Be courteous to the people passing by - don't block their path
and, if they ignore you or even make a snide remark, don't heckle
them. We find that the vast majority of people are polite and
interested in what you have to say. You'll find that some will even
come up to you asking for more flyers! Have a set of master copies
(printed on white paper) for others to make copies of their own and
hand out in other places.

Try to find a place with a lot of foot traffic to distribute
flyers. If you are asked to leave by the management of a local
establishment, cooperate and ask them where they would like you to
stand. They can't force you to leave the area, only the part that is
their property. The precise laws for flyering on private property vary
from state to state, but, unless you are familiar with the laws in
your area, it is best to play it safe and avoid confrontation. You can
still successfully hand out material to everyone coming and going by
positioning yourself in neighboring areas. If things become
unpleasant, simply head to another location. We find that 90% of such
confrontations can be averted by befriending security guards and
making it clear that you don't intend to be disruptive.

After flyering, please email mlc at 2600.com and let us know how it went
so we can compile a report.

Good luck!