[Ham-Mac] ARRL web server

[Chuck Counselman]

I hope that you, my fellow ham-mac subscribers, will contact your 
ARRL Directors about this, too.  Tnx es and 73 de Chuck, W1HIS

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>Date: Tue, 19 Mar 2002 18:23:10 -0500
>To: k1ki@arrl.org, k1twf@arrl.org
>From: Chuck Counselman <ccc@space.mit.edu>
>Subject: ARRL web server
>Cc: n3efn@arrl.org, n3llr@arrl.org, w9gig@arrl.org, k9km@arrl.org, 
>k0qb@arrl.org, n0jph@arrl.org, k5ur@arrl.org, wd4q@arrl.org, 
>wb8bgy@arrl.org, ki4la@arrl.org, n2ff@arrl.org, w2ml@arrl.org, 
>w0ej@arrl.org, k0bj@arrl.org, w6cf@arrl.org, w6rgg@arrl.org, 
>w4pwf@arrl.org, k4nk@arrl.org, w0cp@arrl.org, ws7w@arrl.org, 
>w4rh@arrl.org, w4ru@arrl.org, w6xd@arrl.org, nz6t@arrl.org, 
>n5ok@arrl.org, k5rav@arrl.org, webmaster@arrl.org
>Bcc:
>X-Attachments:
>
>Why bother you, my ARRL Directors, about the ARRL web server? 
>Because I raise a political, policy issue, which as such is properly 
>considered and decided by the ARRL Board of Directors; and because 
>I've raised the immediate, technical, problem twice with ARRL staff, 
>who IMO do not appreciate the policy issue.
>
>The immediate, technical, problem is that the ARRL website does not 
>work properly with Netscape's (and possibly other non-Microsoft) web 
>browser(s).  It works with Microsoft's web browser, and the ARRL 
>webmaster says that this is enough.  He says, reasonably enough, 
>that it's impractical to make the website compatible with every 
>possible browser, because there are so many.
>
>But the effect of his decision is to support the illegal (Federal 
>courts have ruled) monopolistic, anti-competitive practices of 
>Microsoft.  As you know, the Attorneys General of Massachusetts and 
>several other states are fighting to reign in this behavior.
>
>A diverse and free market in software is in the interest of ham 
>radio, more so every day as digital hardware and software permeate 
>our hobby.  The ARRL should be promoting, not suppressing, 
>alternatives to Microsoft-monopoly software.
>
>The ARRL website should be, and could be, compatible with Unix, 
>Linux, and Mac operating systems and applications -- not just 
>Microsoft-monopoly software.  In fact, nearly all of the major, 
>national, websites _are_ so compatible.
>
>Thank you and 73 de Chuck, W1HIS