03.27.08
Microsoft ‘Vampires’ Suck Blood of Romania’s OOXML Voters, Supporters
Vampires and all being just a familiar metaphor, of course
A couple of breaking reports could not just escape without immediate attention. Remind yourself of what is said to have happened in Romania very recently. Romania was by no means the exception, but it is one place where we see representative behaviour which may or may not apply elsewhere (and go unreported).
Romania votes “Yes”, but the more detailed story appears here. Here are some fragments:
For months, OOXML and Microsoft have taken over any other subject on this forum. The pro and con debates were heated, numerous and lengthy.
In all this time, OOXML supporters have utterly failed to offer any solid argument for OOXML’s adoption, while opposing arguments were abundant. The only coherent pro-OOXML statements boiled down to the same tired FUD that Microsoft has put together, repeated ad-nauseam, in spite of all the rich and detailed counter-arguments.
[…]
Therefore I feel justified in believing that “ballot-stuffing” was performed by Microsoft-friendly entities with the purpose of swaying the vote to an OOXML-favorable outcome.
[…]
It will come as no surprise that many of the other recent members are Microsoft business partners.
Therefore I feel justified in believing that “ballot-stuffing” was performed by Microsoft-friendly entities with the purpose of swaying the vote to an OOXML-favorable outcome.
I will stress, for the sake of clarity, that there has been neither public nor official statement so far regarding the CT210 members. We’re not supposed to even know who they are, officially.
[…]
I repeat: there’s a total lack of transparency. So far, the way I understand it (and I Am Not A Lawyer) ASRO seems to put its internal regulations over the laws of the state, one of which states: “the following basic principles must be followed in national standardization: […] transparency and public availability”.
If I am wrong and ASRO’s position holds water, it will mean that the Romanian states is confortable entrusting its standardization to a body who can act in a completely opaque manner should it choose so. A very strange and disturbing notion, but there you have it.
3. The conclusion
The public debate on TIC-Lobby in the months leading up to the March vote have shown a staggering amount of arguments against adopting OOXML as a standard. There were links, tehnical details, technical experiments.
The counter-arguments have been weak, obstinate and often repeated. Even when begged to do so, OOXML supporters have failed to put together even the smallest document containing arguments for their position.
In the end, CT210 fell victim to ballot stuffing and ASRO is currently refusing to disclose any information other than the vote distribution.
The next quick item will speak of another nasty little trick that follows a recognisable pattern. █
Highlight: Novell was the first to acknowledge that Microsoft FUD tactics had substance. Novell then used anti-Linux FUD to market itself. 
Highlight: Xandros let Microsoft make patent claims and brag about (paid-for) OOXML support. 
Highlight: Linspire's CEO not only fell into Microsoft arms, but he also assisted the company's attack on GNU/Linux. 
Highlight: Microsoft craves pseudo (proprietary) standards and gets its way using proxies and influence which it buys. 
Highlight: The invasion into the open source world is intended to leave Linux companies neglected, due to financial incentives from Microsoft. 
Analysis: Xen, an open source hypervisor, possibly fell victim to Microsoft's aggressive (and stealthy) acquisition-by-proxy strategy.