[ILUG] Re: [ILUG-C] Response draft - DO NOT RELEASE

[Thomas Bridge]

Dear Mr. Campbell,

Having consulted with our legal people, on behalf of the Irish Linux User's
Group we would like to respond to your email to the ILUG list this morning.

While we understand the difficulty of making technical points in a radio
interview, your statement on the air "The people who are behind this virus
I would suspect are people who, who, em, are promoting what is called Open
Sof... Open, eh, eh, .... Open System Software" was clearly defamatory to
Linux users and developers in general and Irish Linux users and developers in
particular.

The interview you gave is still available from RTE's website at
http://www.rte.ie/news/2004/0202/morningireland/morningireland5a.smil.
A transcript done by ourselves is available at
http://www.linux.ie/pipermail/ilug/2004-February/010872.html

Your statements during the interview clearly implicated advocates of Open 
Source Software such as Linux, OpenOffice.Org and StarOffice in the creation
of the MyDoom worm.  Several Sun employees are on this list, and we can't
speak for them. How Sun handle this matter is up to them. However we are part
of the Linux and OO.o communities and do speak for them.  And we want an
apology.

With regard to the mailing list archive on our website, just as you are 
entitled to your point of view, so are our members.   In reaction to
your defamatory statements our members are well within their rights to
try to ascertain whatever malice or malpractice may have led to them.
Our group is open in all ways - including open and public discussions
about people making baseless and unfounded allegations about us.

The position of ILUG is this:

1.  We are adamantly opposed to viruses and other cyber-invasions.  So
    adamantly in fact that we have helped to build and promote a system
    that attempts to be highly resistant to them.
2.  Our community was defamed during yesterday's interview on Morning
    Ireland.
3.  The position of the Open Source community with respect to the MyDoom
    worm is very clear, and we stand over last night's press release.

We look forward to whatever efforts you will make to address your
defamation of the members of our organisation.  We suggest a statement
on Morning Ireland, although we are open to discussion.

Yours etc. etc.

Thomas Bridge

ILUG Secretary