No Microsoft Word Attachments!

No Microsoft Word Attachments!by Jeffrey S. Rosenthal

Hello. This page is a request that you never send "Microsoft Word" attachments in your e-mail, to anyone.

The Microsoft Word format is a secret code which is proprietary to Microsoft Corporation (a private, for-profit company). The recipient must purchase several Microsoft products (various versions of Microsoft Word itself, plus the Microsoft Windows operating system) just to read your message.  

If the recipient of your message already uses Microsoft Word (and a compatible version, at that), then this may not be a problem. However, many people, including myself, choose not to buy or use Microsoft computer software -- we find it of low quality, insufficiently flexible, overly secretive, too expensive, and intentionally incompatible with non-Microsoft software. (The Microsoft Word format is also prime way of transmitting computer viruses.) By sending us Microsoft Word attachments, you are implicitly trying to "force" us to purchase Microsoft products that we do not want.  

The situation is analogous to your writing me a note, and then leaving it for me in Antarctica. If I am already in Antarctica then this is fine; but if I'm not, then you are asking me to make a special, costly trip just to read your message.  

So, please -- pretty please -- do not send Microsoft Word attachments. Do not try to force the world to give money to Microsoft; they have enough money as it is. Instead, send your messages in a non-proprietary format. The best option is plain-text format: simply copy-and-paste the text of your document(s) directly into your usual e-mail software, as an outgoing plain-text e-mail message. Or, if more complicated formatting really is necessary, then there are plenty of sophisticated but publicly-readable formats available, including postscript, pdf, html, rtf, and tex/latex/dvi.  

Just think: Every time you send a Microsoft Word attachment, you are telling the world they have to give money and control to the Microsoft Corporation just to read your message. But every time you send a plain-text (or other publicly-readable format) message, you are telling the world that you support their freedom to use their computer resources as they see fit. To paraphrase Marshall McLuhan: The file format is the message.  

So, make the change today!  

Sincerely,
. 1point 3acres

-- Jeffrey S. Rosenthal, Professor, Department of Statistics, University of Toronto


http://probability.ca/jeff/no-word.html

这个老美有点小愤~
不过套信（尤其第一封）附件还是越少越好

这个老师有意思
鉴定完毕

这………………看来反迈克尔索芙特的人还是不在少数的……
投其所好嘛，其实把需要的信息附在邮件正文后面就可以了~

个人觉得陶瓷使用latex编辑是好事，虽说不起多大作用，总比MS word看着让人舒心。。。

个人觉得陶瓷使用latex编辑是好事，虽说不起多大作用，总比MS word看着让人舒心。。。
Narashy 发表于 2010-7-29 21:12

直接用vi或者gedit……

一句话能说清楚的写这么多   真是服了

一句话能说清楚的写这么多   真是服了
空心菜 发表于 2010-8-1 11:36

re

一句话能说清楚的写这么多   真是服了
空心菜 发表于 2010-8-1 11:36

这么一说还真是诶，这不就是一篇典型的托福作文吗：
第一段提出观点，第二段论述Microsoft Word的正面特征，第三段从反面分析如果你用了Microsoft Word 有什么不好的后果，第四段运用类比论证，第五段再次强调观点，升华主题。
哇，好一篇essay！