I just finished writing a letter to the DNC convention organizers, which I sent by e-mail and which I will also send by mail if I don’t get a fairly personal response (as opposed to some boilerplate). Here is the text:
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am a registered Democrat and deeply excited by the convention process this year. In such a critical year, it’s also critical to make sure the widest possible audience can follow the convention. Your choice to distribute convention video using Silverlight, a closed Microsoft technology, prevents me from participating in the convention, even as an interested observer.
I am a scientist and at home I only use the Linux operating system. This free operating system saves me tremendous money in these difficult financial times, and allows me tremendous personal freedom. However, you are only making your convention footage available to users of Windows and Mac, operating systems that cost between $200 and $1000, money which I could use instead for a campaign contribution.
I therefore ask that you please provide your video footage in a format which is available to Linux users. Standard web formats like Adobe Flash are excellent, and in wide use on Windows, Mac, and Linux. I ask, in a year when openness in democracy is so important to this nation, that you not shut out those of us who choose to use the excellent, free, and legal Linux operating system.
Sincerely,
Dr. Stephen J. Sekula
