[vorbis] WSJ article

[Craig Dickson]

Moritz Grimm wrote:

> Hm. I'm a little confused ... on the one hand we have a pretty good
> article from a technical viewpoint (especially compared to some other
> articles I read so far), on the other hand we have those moronic
> implications about "OGG --> bad for Monty's social life" that has a bad
> aftertaste. It almost sounds FUDdy for me. With Monty being the one that
> keeps OGG alive these days, people are lead to be uncertain about OGG's
> future. With the idea of OGG ruining Monty's life, this is even logical
> to think...

No, I didn't think it read that way at all. It just sounded like Monty
was so passionate about his project that other things fell by the
wayside. Which apparently is not accurate, but it's not that uncommon a
phenomenon with technological innovators, so the reporter probably
thought it would help readers to associate Vorbis with other important
innovations. In a way, it almost seems like a well-meant gesture, like
she wanted people to think Vorbis is important by emphasizing how Monty
(supposedly) poured his heart and soul into it no matter what the cost.

Similar, the lie about Monty working on a cheap folding table seems
designed to emphasize the non-corporate, "for the people" aspect of free
software. It says this isn't a product from some big, faceless
corporation; it's the product, instead, of grass-roots enthusiasm and
"good old-fashioned American know-how".

I really don't see any hostility in this piece. If anything, I suspect
that Mei Fong acted like she was doing Monty a big favor because, as she
saw it, she was doing exactly that! She was trying to write a piece
favorable to Vorbis and present a reasonably traditional image of Monty
as a passionate, self-driven, garage-based technical innovator -- an
image to which American readers respond favorably. The image doesn't
necessarily fit him very well, but WSJ readers won't know that.

Craig

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