Bonum Certa Men Certa

Novell's Chief Marketing Officer John Dragoon Does Not Understand Novell Critics, Rewrites the Past Instead

Straw man



Summary: Novell's PR machine (notably the Chief Marketing Officer for Novell) uses a straw man to dismiss its opposition which includes many former users of SUSE

Novell's marketing chief has been kissing bottoms and suppressing criticism of Novell in blogs [1, 2]. Novell's idea of doing business includes silencing sources of bad publicity, apparently. In John Dragoon’s blog he has just written about things needing to be private, pretty much like Novell's deal with Microsoft, which remains an unknown in many ways (it was a private deal). Nobody except some people at the very top of Novell (many of whom have quit the company since then) knows exactly what Microsoft and Novell agreed on, but even "[o]ver three years" after this deal* Dragoon is mischaracterising critics of Novell's deal, thus rewriting the past in some ways. Here is the relevant portion of his text in Forbes:



Over three years ago my employer, Novell, made the bold move of announcing a strategic partnership with one of our long time competitors, Microsoft. We did it because it was in the best interests of our mutual customers. Days, weeks and months later a very vocal minority criticized Novell for “selling out” to the competition. It turned out that very few if any of these critics were our customers. Had we capitulated on our partnership, the valuable customer benefits we delivered would have never occurred.


Recall the bogus survey which was an exercise in push polling (and whose outcome is therefore simply not true). If that's what Novell managers still use for dismissing their critics, then they rely on people being gullible. Novell managers can see that they no longer attract much business (SUSE is up for sale now, but as an asset, not a product). Truth be told, they lost many existing customers and prospective ones too. Those who were no longer with Novell were naturally removed from the sample set, so Novell can claim that existing customers accept the deal. One cannot measure the success of a product by only asking people who already used it for a while. I used SUSE exclusively at home and work, but after the deal with Microsoft I no longer did. So surely I would not be included in any such survey. Well, many of those who complained about the deal with Microsoft were SUSE users (and customers) too. It can be verified through mailing lists for example. Novell should not be allowed to rewrite the past.

"It is in Novell's interest - selfish interest, I will admit - to advance-remove whatever those inhibitors be to the advancement of Linux and open source."

--John Dragoon, Novell



Say No to Novell

____ * It is actually over 4 years ago as the "Boycott Novell" movement is 4 years old now and Dragoon’s article was published on "06/11/2010", 4 days after the 4-year anniversary.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Windows Has Fallen to All-Time Lows in Switzerland Since GNU Celebrated 40th Anniversary (GNU’s 40th Birthday in Biel, Switzerland)
GNU/Linux has been doing well in Switzerland
One Person's Take on Jef Spaleta, the New Fedora Project Leader
"With a little searching, I wonder what else may be found regarding Microsoft."
LLM Slop Has Virtually Killed unixmen.com and Many Other Sites
There's no longer any incentive to write real articles in there
 
In Some Countries, Laptops and Desktops Become a Dying Breed (Even Before Tariffs), Windows Has Nowhere to Go
expect more GNU/Linux on new and existing laptops
When the Credibility or 'Quality' of Clients Ceases to Matter, It's About Helping Rich Companies Like Microsoft Censor Critics (No Matter the Risks)
Bad ideas typically result in undesirable outcomes
UAE: GNU/Linux and Android at Record Levels, Windows at New Lows and Falling Below Apple
Even iOS is measured as bigger than Windows this month
Links 07/04/2025: Reddit Occupied (Social Control Media Controlled by Oligarchy), Demise of Globalisation Ongoing
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, April 06, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, April 06, 2025
Links 07/04/2025: Leaving Gemini/smolweb and Mastodon Migrations
Links for the day
In Iraq, Windows 3.1 (Percent)
There's also zero
Links 06/04/2025: Flood, Cool Gemini Capsule, and Long Form
Links for the day
Links 06/04/2025: Science, Politics, and Pricier Goods
Links for the day
Sharp Declines for Microsoft Windows in Bangladesh (Pop. ~175,000,000), Big Gains for GNU/Linux
Microsoft Windows has been having a really hard time in poor countries
Links 06/04/2025: Fake Reviews, Privatisation Heists, and "AI" as Smokescreen for Impoverishing Humans
Links for the day
Taking a Moral Stand Against Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) and the Worst Offenders/Facilitators
Any other stance would sidle with moral depravity or moral hazard
Links 06/04/2025: Many New Acts of Repression and Elements of Financial Depression
Links for the day
In Qatar GNU/Linux Rose From Under 1% to Over 4% in Two Years (or Over 5% If Counting ChromeOS)
It's a big improvement compared to what we saw last year
LLM Scrapers Are a Nuisance, But They're Also a Reminder It's Time to Make Your Site Static
Perhaps the best protection is the ability to endure surges
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, April 05, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, April 05, 2025
Links 06/04/2025: Attacks on Education, Fake Patents, and Fake (Illegal) Patent Courts
Links for the day
France: Apple and Microsoft Down, GNU/Linux Up to New Record Levels
How will tariffs against France impact things in the coming months?
Open Source Initiative (OSI) Privacy Fiasco in Detail: What Was Reported to the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA)
We hope to finish this whole lot within a week, then move on to election, lobbying etc.
Links 05/04/2025: Tariffs Backfiring, YouTuber Arrested, X/Twitter Set to be Fined
Links for the day
Gemini Links 05/04/2025: Offline is For Everyone, Copyright Colonialism, and More
Links for the day
Links 05/04/2025: TikTok Unsold (Still), Royal Society is Dead
Links for the day
Techrights Will Spend the Next Few Years Writing a Lot About Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs)
It's a growing problem
The State of EPO Staff's Health in Rijswijk or The Hague
We're going to cover the EPO some more later in the month
NVIDIA Corp Lost 36% of Its "Value" Since Cheeto Inauguration, But "Gen Hey Hi" (GenAI) is Totally Not a Bubble
Selling loads of unneeded hardware based on hysterical hype; like selling shovels during a Gold Rush
GNU/Linux Growing in East Asia, Windows by Default No More?
GNU/Linux is now on the shelf
Slopwatch: Anti-Linux 'Articles' From Linux-Hostile LLMs
It is almost always negative things and nobody can be held responsible for it except the charlatans prompting the LLMs
Links 05/04/2025: Fentanylware (TikTok) "Sale Looks Highly Imminent" (US), Stock Market Drowning in Panic
Links for the day
Gemini Links 05/04/2025: Moving Plants, No to Smartwatches, RAID Hygiene
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, April 04, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, April 04, 2025