[2879] in WWW Security List Archive
Re: Security aspects of Microsoft FrontPage server extensions?
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (John Cronin)
Tue Sep 3 14:45:30 1996
From: John Cronin <John.Cronin@oit.gatech.edu>
To: dwm@shell.portal.com (David W. Morris)
Date: Tue, 3 Sep 1996 08:30:35 -0400 (EDT)
Cc: www-security@ns2.rutgers.edu
In-Reply-To: <Pine.SUN.3.93.960902200516.23308B-100000@jobe.shell.portal.com> from "David W. Morris" at Sep 2, 96 08:08:48 pm
Errors-To: owner-www-security@ns2.rutgers.edu
Once upon a time, David W. Morris told me this tale:
->
->On Mon, 2 Sep 1996, John Cronin wrote:
[stuff about releasing source code edited out]
->> I don't think this is something that Microsoft will ever consider. It
->> just isn't in their mindset. That is one reason that there will always
->> be a Unix or some other thorn in their side, for which I am grateful.
->
->What a great way to encourage Microsoft employees to participate in
->open forums. Make unreasonable demands and then roast their motives with
->your fact based analysis.
->
->This is supposed to be a place where we can cooperate to improve web
->security and learn about the issues. Please stop wasting our time with
->your rants and take advantage of the opportunity for open communication.
Actually, I thought I was taking advantage of the opportunity for open
communication. You may have a point about my rant getting a little bit
out of control, but it was not pointless, and it was communication. Since
I made part of the point clear earlier (my dissatisfaction with Microsoft
products), I will not reiterate.
The sad thing is, that I agree with you on one thing. I want to encourage
Microsoft employees to participate. What got me started (normally I just
lurk - a sysadmin concerned more about security than WWW) was the comment
by a previous poster that Microsoft should either release the source code
or shut up because anything else would be a commercial posting. If you
read my whole post, I disagree with that. Nowhere did I agree with the
demand to release source code, and I did state that Microsoft could certainly
enter into the discussion without doing so. You are correct to point out
that I let my disagreements with Microsoft obscure the major point I intended
to make, and perhaps I was not sufficiently encouraging. My comments were
meant to be helpful. Sure, they were critical, but I am not rabidly
anti-Microsoft and I am not going to flame them for joining the discussion.
For the record, I believe that if Microsoft does not want to release their
source code, that is completely and entirely their right. I even understand
it. However, it is my right to prefer to use systems where I do have source
code. I did not say that nobody should buy Microsoft. I recommend Windows
95 to my friends and family over the Mac. I am sure not going to recommend
Unix to new users, at least not if I want to keep my friends (family has no
choice). I don't recommend Microsoft to people who want heavy duty servers,
although Windows NT may make me change my mind soon (alongside, not instead
of, Unix). I am glad Microsoft has at least some competition.
Sorry if I offended anybody with my last post or this one, but I don't
think I said anything wrong.
[At least it wasn't an "unsuscribe" message, although perhaps David wishes
it was...]
--
John Cronin
Office of Information Technology Customer Support Center 0710
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta Georgia, 30332
Internet: john.cronin@oit.gatech.edu
phone: (404) 894-7563
