[ILUG] off the beat'n track.

[Brian Foster]

  | From: "thelinuxmall" <info at thelinuxmall.com>
  | Date: Fri, 9 Jan 2004 17:37:26 -0000
  | 
  | Has anybody asked the powers that be in
  | WIT "can Linux be made available" ?
  | 
  | If you don`t ask you won`t get.
  |  Joe

 the problem with Joe's suggested question is it is too
 easy for the questionee to "answer" “no‟.

 IMHO, you want to phrase the "question" in such a way
 that “no‟ is self-evidently not a politically reasonable
 answer.  e.g.:

   - “My thesis requires using Linux.
      Where is the modern computing sciences lab?‟
     (cue negotiations...)

   - “Our EU computing research partners have already
      set up a distributed Linux compute grid.  You have
      not yet, so WIT will have to refund our grant.
      When and where will the Linux engines be installed?‟

 of course, you must be truthful, so the above examples
 are probably not usable (assuming they have no other
 flaws) --- but the point is that it's perhaps more
 effective to be assertive (NOT aggressive!) and present
 it as WIT's _problem_ that there is insufficient access
 to Linux.  (I would not say “no access‟ unless forced;
 being vague and saying “insufficient access‟ could be
 a better negotiating strategy.)

cheers!  (and Good Luck.)
	-blf-
--
«How many surrealists does it take to    |  Brian Foster      Montpellier,
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