Ed, this is so utterly wrong that it defies all rational thought. Yes, you first stated something along the lines of "Why are you asking us vendor wh0res". And I ignored this post and simply asked you to play nice. The thread continued, still largely the topic of migrating from GroupWise 6.5 to Exchange 2000. Then, you posted this next little gem, and I quote:
"Wed, 10 Dec 2003 17:52:58 -0800 For those of you who haven't been around, Mr. Greg Deckler has repeatedly broadcast his diatribes that those of us who are MVPs should be likened to employees (his word) of Microsoft and anything we tell you should be considered to be propaganda straight from Bill Gates. Well, my response is the kind of "unprofessional" response he deserves, having made his bed. Sorry to have troubled the rest of you. Ed Crowley MCSE+Internet MVP Freelance E-Mail Philosopher Protecting the world from PSTs and Bricked Backups!" Now, to this I simply had to respond because this is a blatant mis-characterization of my position. Yes, I believe that accepting titles from vendors is not only wrong, but extremely damaging to the IT community at large in the eyes of the public that we serve. My response to you corrected your mis-characterization of my position and indicated that yes, we have different opinions on this topic, but that we should at least be able to be civil. From this, then, the whole topic disintegrated into misery. Thus, it is a proven FACT that you, not I, started this entire re-hashed discussion about ethics in IT. Could I have ignored your post. Perhaps, but I am simply not going to allow such a blatant mis-characterization of my beliefs to go unchallenged. Now, given these facts, I could easily make the call you a "liar". But, I am not going to tell you that. I am going to tell you that you are wrong, because you are and I can prove absolutely that you are wrong. But, I am going to give you the benefit of the doubt, show some civility and not claim that you are *purposefully* posting incorrect and wrong information. Instead, I prefer to believe that you simply are not recollecting things correctly. You brought up the this topic of ethics, you mis-characterized my position, you brought up a discussion now 8 years dead, you kept on hounding me until I was forced to respond. You, you, you and finally, you. It's all you man. > So why did you feel the need to change the thread to post the exact same > nonsense you've been spouting all along? Don't say that we keep bringing > this up. All I in the second post in the original thread was that I'm a > "vendor whore". You took over and started with your silly, unjustified > position. > > Ed Crowley MCSE+Internet MVP > Freelance E-Mail Philosopher > Protecting the world from PSTs and Bricked Backups!T > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Greg Deckler > Sent: Thursday, December 18, 2003 7:34 AM > To: Exchange Discussions > Subject: Greg's Utterly Fascinating Views on Ethics > > OK, for some reason beyond my comprehension people seem to have this odd > fascination with my views on ethics in IT. They are so fascinated that every > time I post something to this list, they bring it up. In the interests of > trying to move past this, you can get your fix of my crazed views on ethics > in the form of a free monthly newsletter, The IT Ethics Newsletter. > > Details can be found at http://www.infonition.com/ethics > > I have not yet covered the Conflict of Interest topic but I'm sure that it > will come up eventually. Until then, here is how I see the two sides. > > Greg: > Accepting direct gifts from third parties, especially significant gifts such > as large dollar items and titles, presents a real or perceived conflict of > interest between an IT professional's client (either the customer or company > that he or she works for) and that third party. This is why companies have > limits on the type and dollar amount of gifts that employees can accept from > third parties. Because MVP is primarily a title and titles are priceless, > there are obvious grounds for a potential conflict of interest. And it does > not matter if the conflict of interest is real or perceived. The whole point > of ethics and conflict of interest rules is to help keep people from getting > into ethical trouble and to remove even the specter or impropriety. > > The Other Side: > The MVP title is not unethical. In fact, it does not matter what you do or > who you accept gifts from or what the type or dollar amount of those gifts, > it will never, ever constitute a conflict of interest. Furthermore, there is > really no such thing as a "conflict of interest". This whole "conflict of > interest" nonsense is, in fact, an evil plot propagated by the secretive > Illuminati. Obviously, the Illuminati have corrupted Greg's brain and the > brains of all of the corporations that have rules against accepting gifts. > Don't become another victim! Even if God himself comes down and points out > that something is obviously a potential conflict of interest, argue with God > because the Illuminati have obviously gotten to him. > > _________________________________________________________________ > List posting FAQ: http://www.swinc.com/resource/exch_faq.htm > Web Interface: > http://intm-dl.sparklist.com/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=exchange&text_mode=&lang > =english > To unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Exchange List admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED] _________________________________________________________________ List posting FAQ: http://www.swinc.com/resource/exch_faq.htm Web Interface: http://intm-dl.sparklist.com/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=exchange&text_mode=&lang=english To unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Exchange List admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
