- From: Steven Clift <clift@freenet.msp.mn.us>
- Date: Thu, 18 Dec 1997 17:06:06 +0000
- To: edem-elect@mtn.org, ieft@ietf.org, www-talk@w3.org
- CC: denise.1@francomedia.qc.ca
This is probably not the first "user" campaign, but it does raise the
issue of how folks influence the kind of Internet world we work and
live in. As the WC3 and IETF work away, I suppose it is nice to be
reminded that open standards work on the Internet is appreciated and
important.
Steven Clift
Democracies Online
Noting that how the Internet comes to use its tools for
"self-governance" will directly influence how democracies around the
world will come to use the these tools for political governance.
This was covered at:
http://www.webreview.com/97/12/05/dom/petition.html
Text From:
http://www.webcom1.com/anglais/cgi/petition.cgi/petition.tpl
the "Talk to each other!" petition to Netscape and
Microsoft
The two most popular browsers, Netscape and Microsoft
Internet Explorer, are increasingly incompatible. While
they fight for market shares, it's the internauts and
content providers who bear the cost and the bugs of that
war. If, like me, you've had enough of the victim's role,
send them the following petition. And spread the word!
It's everybody's business to see to it that Internet
keeps serving common interest before self-interest.
denise.1@francomedia.qc.ca
P.S.: If you have a Web page, please add a link to this
petition. Thanks.
P.P.S.: Sorry if my English is bad. My first language is
French.
Send to: ppolicy@netscape.com,SBN@microsoft.com
From the form:
I hereby protest against the way you develop your respective
browsers. The increasing incompatibility between your products
bothers all internauts and content providers. For Net's sake,
talk to each other! Match up your tags, attributes, margins,
fonts, spacing... The Net is about cooperation, not competition. We
have no use of your latest innovation, however wonderful, if it only
works with your own software. The Internet cake is big enough for
everyone. The more universal your codes, the nicer our pages and the
more internauts. Thank you.
(additional comments)
Your name:
Your address:
(electronic or postal)
Please, send only one petition
otherwise the number of
petitions sent won't be as
significant. Besides, the
objective is not to jam those
companies servers.
RESULTS
The results of the petition will be updated every Monday. You can
also access them on WebCarta.
CREDITS
The hosting and statistics of this petition are graciously
provided by Francomédia. The animated chain is a creation of Yves
Piguet. The original CGI scripts (to send the petition) are from
Huihong Luo and Lincoln D. Stein.
Total number of English and French petitions sent from December 1st to
14, 1997:
524
Second week results of the "Talk to each other!"
petition to Netscape and Microsoft
first week results
1) More than 40% of WebCarta's anglo visitors have sent the
petition!
2) ...but English medias are mute.
3) Netscape asks that the petition be moved.
4) Reaction at Microsoft.
* * *
1) ...according to my server's logs. Here's one of your
responses:
"...I sent URL of petition page to all e-mail addresses I know
;)" -Glip
Way to go, Cyberanglos! You may have notice I'm doing the same
with WebCarta, now. As long as the petition will last, all e-mail
transmitting your cards to your correspondents will also convey
an invitation to sign the petition. And I hope you have many
parents and friends 'cause...
* * *
2) I haven't seen a line, nor a link in English medias yet.
(French media do a (very) little better.)
* * *
3) Nestcape finaly contacted me, through Matt Kovac from its
Legal Department. In short, he asked that the petition be
redirected to a new e-mail address he gave me. That was easy to
do and could have been done days before if he had just asked
instead of calling Francomedia to have the petition removed from
the server.
* * *
4) Jane, from Microsoft Site Builder Network (where the petitions
are sent) e-mailed me the same day. At her request, I've added
space for additional comments under the petition.
* * *
'See you next week!
denise.1
CREDITS
The hosting and statistics of this petition are graciously
provided by Francomédia. The original CGI scripts (to send the
petition) are from Huihong Luo and Lincoln D. Stein. The animated
chain is a creation of Yves Piguet.
First week results
1) Less than 10% of you have signed the petition :-(
2) The first media support.
3) Netscape asks Francomedia to remove the petition.
4) No reaction from Microsoft.
* * *
1) Until the media start publishing their first "papers" about
the petition, you, visitors of COM 1 and WebCarta are almost the
only ones aware of it. Which tells me that LESS THAN 10% of you
have sent it! I'm not proud of you. Have web page designers
worked so well that (you think) you don't suffer from Netscape
and Internet Explorer's incompatibilities? Or is it that you
don't care that the Internet now serves private interest before
common interest? Fortunately, your group is not large enough to
be representative of all internauts. And also fortunately, the
petition has received other support...
* * *
2) -"The petition is an admirable thing...I sent mine in :-)"
-Elana Kehoe, Online Assistant Producer, Computer Chronicles/The
Internet Cafe
-"J'applaudis des deux mains et des pieds... Merci!" -José Rossi,
webmestre de Webdo (I applaud with both hands and feet... Thank
you!)
-"Nous allons y faire suite. Merci et bravo pour cette excellente
initiative." -André Bélanger, rédacteur en chef, Magazine Mémento
(We will follow up on it. Thanks and bravo for this excellent
initiative.)
-"I'll take a peek thanks!" - Bill Cullifer, Executive Director,
The National Association of Webmasters
-"Un papier va passer normalement dans le supplément multimedia
de samedi prochain du Monde." -Olivier Puech (A paper should
appear in Saturday's multimedia pages of Le Monde.)
-"Il me fait plaisir de participer a votre petition."
-Jean-Pierre Cloutier, Les Chroniques de Cyberie (I am glad to
contribute to your petition.)
My warmest thanks to all.
* * *
3) Last friday, Matt Kovac, from Netscape Legal Department, has
asked Claude Leroux, Operation Manager of Francomédia (whose
server hosts the petition) to remove the petition from the
server, calling it a SPAM(1) operation. Mister Leroux told me he
refused to comply because he supports the petition and isn't sure
it does qualify as SPAM. Well, it seems Netscape itself isn't so
sure of that since, December 1st, their P.R. Department actualy
thanked me for the petition, by an e-mail saying:
"...Thank you for taking the time to write. We appreciate
your feedback, as it allows us to not only create a better
product, but provide better service to our customers. I have
forwarded your comments..."
Internal incompatibilities, I guess..:-) But don't expect a thank
you note from Nestcape anymore; Mister Kovac said they were now
trashing the petitions without opening them. (But don't let that
keep you from sending them, on the contrary. If a few hundreds
unsatisfied users don't matter to Netscape, maybe a few millions
will have more impact.)
(1) SPAM: junk e-mail
* * *
'See you next week!
denise.1
-------------------------------------------------------
Steven L. Clift, Director, Democracies Online
3454 Fremont Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55408 USA
Tel: 612-824-3747 E: clift@freenet.msp.mn.us
http://www.e-democracy.org/do/ - Democracies Online
http://freenet.msp.mn.us/people/clift/ - Home Page
-------------------------------------------------------
Received on Thursday, 18 December 1997 18:12:52 UTC