[sf-lug] Fwd: Re: [new-sfwow] (tech)(discussion) openoffice opinions??

[vincent polite]

Hi Rick,
  I think were thinking along the same path...Actually, I also saw this  on the same mailing list. They didn't say what School District it was.  But, one had a complete computer failure. All teacher records, lesson  plans...etc. were lost. I also heard that a non-profit runs the Oakland  Schools' computer system...I'm sure we won't change the world. Maybe  effect part of it with this?
  
  Thanks,
  Vince

Rick Moen <rick at linuxmafia.com> wrote:  Quoting vincent polite (vpolitewebsiteguy at yahoo.com):

> I saw this posting on this mailing list I'm apart (SF-WOW). Don't know
> where to go with off the top of my head. But, it seemed something that
> could be stored away.

There's lots of potential for use / promotion of OpenOffice.org and other
open-source software by schools and social-service outfits.  I've seen a
number of efforts by computerists to push that along -- all of them well
intended, but with, unfortunately, strikingly low rates of success.

The schools and social-welfare bureaucracies have a long history of
giving the polite brush-off to unfamiliar outsiders wanting to "help" them.
They have good reason, from their perspective, for this posture, and
volunteers wishing to get involved will find it very slow going.  If
they listen carefully, they'll hear a lot of polite skepticism, and the
unspoken but obvious assumption that you're asking them to buy into
something exotic that will be unmaintainable without expensive ongoing
technical assistance for which there is simply no budget.

Someone like the quoted Bayle Emlein (Assistive Technology/Career
Transition Specialist, Oakland School District) is in a slightly better
position to get the message across -- because of being an insider.
SF-LUG might consider trying to find out what resources he needs to make
the case.


Quoting the WoW Yahoo Group's footer:
   
>     Always start subject with one of: (community) (discussion) (event) (intro) (job) (tech)
>   More info: http://www.sfwow.org/pages/join/listfaq.html#post
>   Need Help? Mailto:listmom at sfwow.org or http://www.sfwow.org/pages/join/listfaq.html  

I realise this is specifically the San Francisco Women on the Web
mailing list we're talking about, but one of my rules for living is to
avoid any forum said to be run by a "listmom":  Administration tends to
be heavy-handed and very high-context.  (The male "listmoms" tend
statistically to be particularly bad in this area.  I first noticed this
odd subculture among, of course, certain groups of Macintosh users.)
Your Mileage May Differ.



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