I'm hearing that some project volunteers, especially new ones, are being contacted by certain external parties, who then try to discourage them from contributing to the Apache OpenOffice project. I'm hearing that similar notes have been sent out to those who submitted listings to our new Consultants Directory, also discouraging them from involvement in the project.
This is my personal view on this matter, for what it is worth. I think we all would agree that such techniques are deplorable and bring disrepute to the individuals involved, and to the project that sanctions such techniques. If you recall we had a similar wave of such unprofessional behavior a few months ago, when certain external parties were contacting journalists who mentioned OpenOffice and telling them that it was no longer being developed and to link to a different product instead. I any case, if you are receiving such FUD yourself, I'd encourage you to simply post it to this mailing list, or to your blog, or some other public website. "Daylight is the best antiseptic" as they say. I am not a medical doctor, but I do believe that FUD exposed to public scrutiny loses its potency. But FUD ignored is FUD that spreads. Regards, -Rob
