The Mozilla Project doesn't do end-user support. They support developers and testers, not end-users.
If you look on their web site, there are many places where you will find this information.
Who does end-user support? The companies/projects/individuals who "re-brand" Mozilla, including Netscape, Beonex, etc. End-user support, whether it be for Grandma Jones or Joe Six-pack wanting questions answered about their home PC, or the IT worker in Corporate wanting to resolve issues about network installs for 5000 workstations, is by no means redundant.
Offering end-user support for Mozilla without "re-branding" is a HelpDesk's nightmare -- "What is the Build ID of the Mozilla that you downloaded? Oh, that problem with 2002050806 was fixed in 2002051009, let's see if I can help you navigate mozilla.org to get to the place you can download that build...."
These are my opinions and IANAL (I am not a Lobbiest), but I believe that we as a group can have an effect on the American electoral process if we are able to do two things well -- pick a good target, and pick a good issue.
Sen. Hollings may be an attractive target, but he may not be a good target. A good target for a small organization is one who is vulnerable, and who has an opponent (in the primary or general election) that shares our views and is electable. A primary election is the best place to start because even if our target gets the nomination, if we make enough noise, we may be able to convince him/her that they need to re-examine their stance on issues that are important to us.
Picking a good issue is another vital piece to the equation. I am a strong advocate of privacy, but it is an issue that is up for debate as to how much are we entitled to have, and the benefits of trading some privacy for convenience/security/etc. I believe corporate control over what we can do with our purchases (computers, movies, music, etc.) to be a much stronger issue to fight. Even people who have never touched a computer have likely taped an LP to listen to the music in their car, or taped a movie off of HBO for their personal video collection, or loaned a book to a friend. It is an issue that most people have had some relevant past experience that we can point out that will become illegal, and to avoid breaking the law will cost them money -- money that will go to rich corporations.
Leaving the US for a more geek-friendly country may seem like an option (and is has to me on more than one occasion) but it is not an option for most of us, and it doesn't do anything to help solve the problem. It may even just be a delaying tactic. because once the policies are implemented in the US there are strong forces (political and corporate) for getting those policies implemented internationally.
We have a couple of choices, in my view, give up, or do something concrete about it. The cure for becoming demoralized to to do something to raise your moral. What you or I would like to do may be outside our grasp for the moment, but doing something that is within our means is more than just a morale booster -- it is the right thing to do. For me, what is in my means this month is: 1. Making a pledge to the AOTC and GeekPAC 2. Ordering replacements for the motherboards/CPUs that I own that are based on AMD cpus, and writing emails to AMD explaining why they have lost a customer. 3. Stop buying my wife's 5 DVDs a month at Best Buy, destroying my Best Buy credit card, and writing them to tell them how their position on Digital Rights Management prompted me to take this action. 4. Telling everyone I know that cares to listen what I have done, and why I have done it -- not as some ego-trip, chest-beating proclamation, but as a quiet, "this is what I believe and why, and what I am doing about it" statement.
None of these things are earth-shattering, but they are things that I can do.
For me, there is no dilemma - AMD's corporate behavior has just alienated a loyal customer (me), and Intel's corporate behavior in the last few years -- distancing themselves from Microsoft and exploring if not embracing other OS's that run on their hardware -- have moved them off my "Avoid" list. I have two AMD based machines that have been giving me fits lately, but this morning's news solved my problems -- I just ordered two brand-new motherboards and Intel processors to replace them. I also sent an email to AMD to voice my displeasure, and to inform them that not only will I stop buying their products, but I will stop using their products that I own.
I had been a strong supporter of AMD since the 386 days, and I am loathe to replace the AMD486 which has been my email and DNS server for nearly six years (although I don't compile new kernels for it on it anymore), but AMD's corporate support for Microsoft has soured me on keeping their products around.
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Who does end-user support? The companies/projects/individuals who "re-brand" Mozilla, including Netscape, Beonex, etc. End-user support, whether it be for Grandma Jones or Joe Six-pack wanting questions answered about their home PC, or the IT worker in Corporate wanting to resolve issues about network installs for 5000 workstations, is by no means redundant.
Offering end-user support for Mozilla without "re-branding" is a HelpDesk's nightmare -- "What is the Build ID of the Mozilla that you downloaded? Oh, that problem with 2002050806 was fixed in 2002051009, let's see if I can help you navigate mozilla.org to get to the place you can download that build...."
These are my opinions and IANAL (I am not a Lobbiest), but I believe that we as a group can have an effect on the American electoral process if we are able to do two things well -- pick a good target, and pick a good issue.
Sen. Hollings may be an attractive target, but he may not be a good target. A good target for a small organization is one who is vulnerable, and who has an opponent (in the primary or general election) that shares our views and is electable. A primary election is the best place to start because even if our target gets the nomination, if we make enough noise, we may be able to convince him/her that they need to re-examine their stance on issues that are important to us.
Picking a good issue is another vital piece to the equation. I am a strong advocate of privacy, but it is an issue that is up for debate as to how much are we entitled to have, and the benefits of trading some privacy for convenience/security/etc.
I believe corporate control over what we can do with our purchases (computers, movies, music, etc.) to be a much stronger issue to fight. Even people who have never touched a computer have likely taped an LP to listen to the music in their car, or taped a movie off of HBO for their personal video collection, or loaned a book to a friend. It is an issue that most people have had some relevant past experience that we can point out that will become illegal, and to avoid breaking the law will cost them money -- money that will go to rich corporations.
Leaving the US for a more geek-friendly country may seem like an option (and is has to me on more than one occasion) but it is not an option for most of us, and it doesn't do anything to help solve the problem. It may even just be a delaying tactic. because once the policies are implemented in the US there are strong forces (political and corporate) for getting those policies implemented internationally.
We have a couple of choices, in my view, give up, or do something concrete about it. The cure for becoming demoralized to to do something to raise your moral. What you or I would like to do may be outside our grasp for the moment, but doing something that is within our means is more than just a morale booster -- it is the right thing to do.
For me, what is in my means this month is:
1. Making a pledge to the AOTC and GeekPAC
2. Ordering replacements for the motherboards/CPUs that I own that are based on AMD cpus, and writing emails to AMD explaining why they have lost a customer.
3. Stop buying my wife's 5 DVDs a month at Best Buy, destroying my Best Buy credit card, and writing them to tell them how their position on Digital Rights Management prompted me to take this action.
4. Telling everyone I know that cares to listen what I have done, and why I have done it -- not as some ego-trip, chest-beating proclamation, but as a quiet, "this is what I believe and why, and what I am doing about it" statement.
None of these things are earth-shattering, but they are things that I can do.
For me, there is no dilemma - AMD's corporate behavior has just alienated a loyal customer (me), and Intel's corporate behavior in the last few years -- distancing themselves from Microsoft and exploring if not embracing other OS's that run on their hardware -- have moved them off my "Avoid" list. I have two AMD based machines that have been giving me fits lately, but this morning's news solved my problems -- I just ordered two brand-new motherboards and Intel processors to replace them. I also sent an email to AMD to voice my displeasure, and to inform them that not only will I stop buying their products, but I will stop using their products that I own. I had been a strong supporter of AMD since the 386 days, and I am loathe to replace the AMD486 which has been my email and DNS server for nearly six years (although I don't compile new kernels for it on it anymore), but AMD's corporate support for Microsoft has soured me on keeping their products around.