Re: General advice beyond Org

[edgar@openmail.cc]

On 2018-05-18 07:12, S. Champailler wrote:
> Be aware that free software is politcally loaded. It's just not a
> matter of having the right or best tools, it' sometimes a question of
> ideal, that is something that is *very* hard to negociate about...
> 
> Moreover, if the people you work with use, say Word, it's pretty tough
> to bring in, say Latex. Because you'll disrupt the organisation of the
> team.
> 
> In the case of emacs, though, things are easier : it's made to work
> with text files and that is quite compatible with any other
> proprietary software. You won't affect anybody's job with that.
> 
> Here at my job, I don't control any of the software I use (I have to
> use Oracle, Windows, Skype), but I can choose the software that *I*
> use for myself. So it's a balance.
> 
> Changing other's mind, or methods is super hard, what you experience
> is just the normal. It'd be nice to know why your advisor rejects free
> software equivalents (lack of features ? fear of legal battles ?
> organisational ...)
> 
> Stefan

Merci, Stefan. I have tried to understand her point, and I can dissect 
it into:

1. She does not see the advantage of having to learn how to use anything 
else. It works well for her, why change and waste time on doing it?

2. She likes and is used to the "features" of the software (today, I 
discovered that one of these is the so-called "track changes"; I swear I 
have tried to introduce her to Git, not that she cares).

3. I think that she is used to the interface.

4. She says (and I have no reason to question) that the whole department 
uses the proprietary software that she uses. It is an imposition to 
others (including her) to ask them to use something different.

It is only when we have to collaborate directly that the issue arises. I 
guess that it's a similar situation as you are having (programming? she 
does not care, I can do whatever I want; publication abstract? she wants 
a DOCX or DOC). What I find unfathomable is that I can produce the 
format that she needs (even with style) with free software (thanks 
community!), but what I perceive as her reluctance to my software (or 
just plain miscommunication) prevents her from informing me or me 
understanding what exactly it is that she considers important. In other 
words, she does not seem to want to deal with it in any way.

I'm sorry, I didn't want to make this very long. I hope that I explained 
myself.

The count goes like this (so that everyone knows that I am listening, 
the count is by far the least important):
- Yield partially (1) :: You will have to work with proprietary software 
in some way, but not always.
- There is no escape (1) :: You will have to work with proprietary 
software

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