“I once thought that technical writers would be one of the next
groups to adopt free and open source software (FOSS). I reasoned
that they were advanced computer users, and might absorb an
interest through their daily interactions with developers. However,
after discussing FOSS on the Techwr-l mailing list a few months
ago, I realized I was wrong. A handful are using FOSS
professionally, and a few were inspired by the discussion to try
it. Yet most showed only mild interest. Some echoed myths that
everyone in the FOSS community has heard before about lack of
support or quality. The majority, though, showed a mixture of
pragmatism, a clinging to the familiar, and a double-standard that,
taken together shows just how large a gap still separates the FOSS
community from many of those it might immediately benefit…”