[OSGeo-Discuss] FOSS4GNA - Someone is watching you :-o

[Pat Tressel]

I'm concerned about the vague accusations without evidence.  They also
don't seem relevant to the discussion about how one's name got on various
mailing lists.

I don't know if MailChimp is a "standard" for some type of companies but
> certainly I don't want it to be for communicating with OSGeo community.
>

MailChimp is a very popular product.  If you have a provable accusation
against them -- that they were acting **independently of the account
administrator** to alter lists, then that would be significant.  As Rob has
stated, MailChimp did not do something by itself.  The list was aggregated
from previous lists and events in which people participated.

OSGeo and FOSS4G is for the community and should be adherent to the OPEN
> (sorry but i want to be loud here) principle and to me this is not only in
> the licence you choose.
>

Does that mean you don't want to use any commercial tools, or only use
open-source products?  That's difficult.  For instance, I don't know any
non-commercial, open-source ISPs or domain registrars.  Or hosting
services, though one could run one's own servers.  Don't see how you'd get
around the need for a domain registrar though...use bare IP addresses?

How many time I have hear that Google spy you, and Microsoft without
> explicitly inform you collect information on your behavior while Linux do
> not do this kind of things?
>

Sorry, can't let that one stand...  You may have heard things but that does
not make things true.  Be careful what you believe or assume -- question
the rumors you hear.  Also, things change.  An opinion that might have been
valid once may not be any longer.

Google and Microsoft are companies.  Linux is not a company, it is an
open-source project.  A *company* that *provides a Linux distro* might do
marketing to you.  If you buy RedHat Enterprise Linux, you will likely get
on their mailing list.  (If I bought RHEL, they had *better* tell me what's
going on...)  You can likely opt out of most of their communications.

Google's *business* is making recommendations.  They provide personalized
advertising recommendation services.  If you use their free services then
you *opt in* to having them use your web searches to select ads for sites
that use Google advertising services.  If retailers use Google services to
place ads, and you shop on those retailers' sites, then they may show you
ads relating to your purchases.  This is just how personalized online
advertising works.  Frankly, I'd rather see ads for something I'm
interested in.  Google has repeatedly fought requests by governments to
divulge personal information.

Once Upon a Time, Microsoft earned its reputation as the Evil Empire,
mainly based on pressuring PC manufacturers to ship products with Windows
installed, and encouraging an argumentative employee culture.  However,
Microsoft has changed.  If you want to point at a company as being the Evil
Empire these days, you'd be more accurate pointing at Apple (cancelling
licenses for Mac clones, suicides at Foxconn, restrictions on getting apps
on iTunes, removing fitness tracker products from their stores because they
might compete with the Apple Watch, etc. -- do a search for "apple anti
competitive practices").  Microsoft now has significant open-source
programs.  They are also in the forefront among tech companies in reforming
their employee culture.  They *cancelled stack ranking*.  I don't know if I
can convey just how important and significant that is.  Most other tech
companies still do it in spite of research showing how it hurts performance
and employee morale.  Their new CEO, Satya Nadella, is an actual nice
person.  So, times change.

-- Pat
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