Re: [csail-related] gsb: tonight at 5:30pm in 9G

[Richard Stallman <rms@>]

You sent an attachment in Microsoft Word format, a secret proprietary
format.

Distributing documents in Word format is bad for you and for others.
You can't be sure what they will look like if someone views them
with a different version of Word; they may not work at all.

Receiving Word documents is bad for you because they can carry
viruses (see http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/acro.html).
Sending Word documents is bad for you, because a Word document
normally includes hidden information about the author, enabling those
in the know to pry into the author's activities (maybe yours).  Text
that you think you deleted may still be embarrassingly present.  See
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3154479.stm for more info.

But above all, sending people Word documents puts pressure on them to
use Microsoft software and helps to deny them any other choice.  In
effect, you become a buttress of the Microsoft monopoly.  This
pressure is a major obstacle to the broader adoption of free software.
Would you please reconsider the use of Word format for communication
with other people?

See http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/no-word-attachments.html for more
about this issue.