Brian Proffitt no friend of Linux
|
| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| Hap_Hixby Oct 10, 2005 1:58 PM EDT |
I'm glad to hear that Brian Proffitt doesn't kick his cat. That doesn't hide the fact that he is completely impotent as editor of Linux Today. His mealy mouthed excuses blaming the advertising department is so transparent it hurts. Imagine if Bill Keller, the executive editor of the New York Times, faced a similar problem. Suppose the Ku Klux Klan posted "white papers" on every page of the New York Times extolling the virtues of the Ku Klux Klan. Would Bill Keller shrug his shoulders and make excuses--"I don't handle the advertising". Brian Proffitt should be ashamed. He's not an editor. He's not even a cub reporter. He's the janitor who picks the lint out of the carpet. |
| tadelste Oct 10, 2005 2:15 PM EDT |
Hap_Hixby, You're certainly entitled to your opinion about Brian. According to some people I'm a thief, liar, ego maniac and other things. I'm also not technical, out of my league, can't program, don't know anything about networking, hardware, applications or writing etc. I've never worked with Brian, perhaps you have. So, our experiences might be different. Paul Ferris did work with Brian and other people I know have too. From my interactions with Brian, I say he's a straight-up guy. The people I know who have worked with him say the same thing. And btw, I have written for major publications such as Forbes where advertising does drive content. Brian's pubs continue to publish positive Linux content and to me that makes a difference. |
| tuxchick Oct 10, 2005 2:22 PM EDT |
Ya know, you really shouldn't post such an uninformed diatribe. We prefer quality, informed diatribes on LXer. Brian Proffitt is not the executive editor of an independent publication. He is the editor of one small piece of a large online publishing empire, so a more accurate analogy to a print publication is the tech editor in charge of a small section of a very large paper. Brian has no say over ads posted on the site. He has corporate masters to answer to. I deal with this myself, because I write a regular column for enterprisenetworkingplanet.com, which is also a JupiterMedia property. My editor is wonderful at shielding me from the behind-the-scenes silliness and occasional nastiness. And just like Brian, he has no say over the advertising. I suppose we could all fall on our swords, and say "remove the offending ads or we walk!" Then we would be out of jobs, and three excellent Linux F/OSS advocates would be lost, and likely replaced by people with other interests. I invite anyone who wants a "pure" Linux site to do what Dave did, and found something like LXer. My own goal is to get more of my work into mainstream pubs that are Windows-pwned, like ZDNet and PC Mag. It's an uphill battle, but I want to reach a wider audience than the converted faithful. If it means sitting next to microshaft ads, and moron columnists who haven't done a fact-check since they left college, and mingling with ding-dong Bill Gates fanbois, so what. It's the readership I'm aiming for, the potential new users and decision-makers. Those are the folks we need to pay attention to- not microshaft. |
| tuxchick Oct 10, 2005 2:38 PM EDT |
I forgot to mention that yes, the microsoft ads on LT are quite offensive. Don't bug Brian Proffitt about it, the people to contact are here, http://www.jupitermedia.com/corporate/executive.html. Those are the decision-makers, not Brian. |
| PaulFerris Oct 10, 2005 2:41 PM EDT |
And again, I must chime in here, as an ex-internet.com employee (Jupiter Media Now) that I respect Brian as a community member and a good editor. I've been exactly in his shoes before, and given some of the things that have transpired prior with myself and internet.com, you would think that I would be jumping all over this. I'm not, for a good reason. I have an opinion -- Brian does good work, the site has ads on it that I object to, but that doesn't mean everything there is a Microsoft-sponsored project -- in fact, it means that Microsoft thinks they can attract eyeballs there. That's all it means, because I've actually sat where he sits, and I can assure you, he's telling the truth of the situation. If he says it's that way, he does not, in fact, control his advertising people. It was indeed that way when I was there. --Paul Ferris |
| mvermeer Oct 10, 2005 11:10 PM EDT |
Actually if your objective is to entice people into the Linux world, neither LinuxToday nor LXer is the forum to write for. They are for the already-converted. You should write for more general, non-linux-specific forums. That being said, it does make a difference what these sites look like, as they are Linux visit cards. Believe it or not, Linux is about honesty. That is one quality that "sells" it to a certain kind of people, the kind we want to have. (Like PJ remarked about a t-shirt she saw: "It's the difference between trust and anti-trust". So, in a Linux universe, there is no place for people like Brian -- correction: for job descriptions like Brian's. The aim is to make them extinct :-) I don't doubt Brian's personal integrity or his honestly trying to make the best of an impossible situation. About advertising: every site needs it. And ads are by definition one-sided. But there is such a thing as "truth in advertising". You don't have to lie and cheat, that is always a choice you make. - Martin |
| PaulFerris Oct 11, 2005 1:27 AM EDT |
Martin: good point about choice. Speaking of my own choices... By the time I did leave internet.com, my choice had been made, I just couldn't find a suitable job at the time (it was, after all, the .dot-com bust). There was also the small matter of my wife being in the hospital and other pressing family matters. The decision of when to leave was made for me, and although it hurt at the time, it was the best thing for me. I now write unimpeded and I say what I wish to say about the things I care most about. Never felt better. --FeriCyde |
| tuxchick Oct 11, 2005 11:25 AM EDT |
"Actually if your objective is to entice people into the Linux world, neither LinuxToday nor LXer is the forum to write for. They are for the already-converted. You should write for more general, non-linux-specific forums." I do believe I said that, or are you just agreeing? " But there is such a thing as "truth in advertising". You don't have to lie and cheat, that is always a choice you make." That's for sure. I don't believe a vendor in any other industry would get away with the crap that Microsoft does. It's mind-boggling. |
| mvermeer Oct 12, 2005 5:28 AM EDT |
tuxchick: you're doing the precisely right thing. |
| phsolide Oct 12, 2005 7:03 AM EDT |
Quoting:That's for sure. I don't believe a vendor in any other industry would get away with the crap that Microsoft does. It's mind-boggling. No kidding, and it's gone on for *years*: http://www.users.qwest.net/~eballen1/ms.treatment.html |
| tadelste Oct 12, 2005 7:09 AM EDT |
All: Lxer does reach the non-converted and interested readers. Google news picks up approximately 100 items a month from here. A recent conversation with an EiC in South Africa suggests we're considered an international publication. About 50% of our readership is non-domestic. We have visitors from 152 countries. We reach more people than one might imagine. If we're only reaching the non-converted, then a half-billion or so die-hard Linux users must exist guessing from our market-share. |
Posting in this forum is limited to members of the group: [ForumMods, SITEADMINS, MEMBERS.]
Becoming a member of LXer is easy and free. Join Us!