Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!apple!Apple.COM!lsr
From: lsr@Apple.COM (Larry Rosenstein)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple
Subject: Re: Matt, please listen! (Was Re: contacts in Norman, OK)
Message-ID: <7137@goofy.Apple.COM>
Date: 12 Mar 90 19:27:36 GMT
Sender: usenet@Apple.COM
Organization: Objects-R-Us,  Apple Computer, Inc.
Lines: 62
References:<1785@crash.cts.com> <1990Mar10.051855.7012@spectre.ccsf.caltech.edu>

In article <1990Mar10.051855.7012@spectre.ccsf.caltech.edu> 
toddpw@tybalt.caltech.edu (Todd P. Whitesel) writes:

>Apple is supposed to encourage freedom of expression among its employees 
and
>if they can get canned for publicly expressing personal dissatisfaction 
with
>Apple's policies then it speaks very badly of Apple as a company. I don't
>think that is really the case but it often seems like it.

Apple does encourage freedom of expression among employees.  The key words 
here are "among employees".  We are not free to divulge confidential 
information to outsiders.  People have been (and will be) 
reprimanded/fired for doing this.  

Criticizing company policy in public may not be the same as releasing 
confidential information, but in my opinion it is not the right thing to 
do either.  It doesn't really help to complain in public; one is more 
likely to get things accomplished by complaining in private to the 
appropriate people.  

Also, any public statement by an Apple employee is inevitably taken as an 
official statement from Apple.  You can put a disclaimer on every line and 
people will simply not notice. 

>products but telling the outside world that the II has a real future I 
would
>think should be encouraged instead of a non-disclosure agreement!

I've been reading this newsgroup for a while, and it seems to me that the 
only statement that would satisfy people is one that talks about 
unaanounced products.  No one believes the statements the Apple executives 
make, so I don't see how having Apple II DTS making the same statements 
would be any more satisfying. 

>The rations of abuse we heap on you guys is due completely to the fact 
that
>in our attempts to alert Apple to the situation out here we have found you
>folks as an easy access point, 

> But please don't take it personally, give us an address of someone

The key word here is "easy".  People find it easy to post a message on 
Usenet or send an E-Mail to one of the DTS people.  But sending them 
messages doesn't alert Apple to anything.  At best, they would have to 
spend some of their valuable time collecting the messages and forwarding 
them.

By now, people should know the names of Apple's top executives (John 
Sculley & Mike Spindler).  Apple's address is no secret either (20525 
Mariani,  Cupertino, CA 95014).  People have proposed letter-writing 
campaigns more than once here, but I haven't seen any evidence that these 
ideas have gotten off the ground.

You have all the names and addresses you need, it's just a matter of 
spending the time to write the letter.

Larry Rosenstein, Apple Computer, Inc.
Object Specialist

Internet: lsr@Apple.com   UUCP: {nsc, sun}!apple!lsr
AppleLink: Rosenstein1