[OT] documents for the general public need to be generally readable

[Mike McMullin]

On Wed, 2008-10-29 at 10:18 -0500, Wade Smart wrote:
> Robert Hodgins wrote:
> > On Wed, 2008-10-29 at 09:52 -0500, Wade Smart wrote:
> >> 20081029 0948 GMT-6
> >>
> >> This is a small rant of mine.
> >>
> >> My son is in orchestra and his teacher sent out a file in a Microsoft 
> >> docx format to ALL of the students in the music department. What upsets 
> >> me about this is, first, to assume that all parents are using the latest 
> >> Microsoft Office much less Microsoft Windows is ignorant. A great many 
> >> of the music students use Mac and therefore may or may not use Office. 
> >> And this says nothing of all of us who use something else. Second, if it 
> >> is for the students of a public school system then it needs to be 
> >> something that is generic enough to be opened by someone with any type 
> >> of system.
> > 
> > I've had this happen, as well. Just have a chat with the teacher. Many
> > folks (and that includes teachers) are accustomed to hitting the ol'
> > File..Save with no thought whatsoever as to the format that will be
> > created.
> > 
> > 
> 
> 20081029 1010 GMT-6
> 
> If it was just one teacher it would be one thing, though I have had this 
> talk with all of his teachers to date, but its ALL of the teachers. I 
> even received something from the district this morning and it too was docx.
> 
> Avi just posted about them assuming that every student has a computer. I 
> know of many who do not. They have expensive cell phone plans for 
> unlimited text messaging but no computer.
> 
> This is how I usually handle it:
> 
> Mr/Ms/Mrs Teacher
> 
> This document is in a proprietary format readable only by the latest 
> Microsoft Office Word application and downloadable reader for older 
> Microsoft Offices Suites. Those of us on Mac who do not use Office or 
> those of us on Linux who use OpenOffice or other office suites, can not 
> open this document.
> 
> Please go to File > Save As > in the box under where you put your title 
> of the document, click on the drop down arrow and select Word 97/ 2000 / 
> XP .doc.
> 
> Some do this others do not. I had an argument with a teacher who refused 
> to send out a form in a format I could read. I didn't sign it as I 
> couldn't open it. They now claim as I didn't sign it my son cant go on 
> such and such field trip (which is a required part of his grade). Our 
> lawyer is now involved as they failed him on that.

  I'd say the teacher is on shaky ground, more than once I've had to
tell my Children's teachers to send stuff as .RTF files, I've never met
and editor that could not handle that format.

> Ah... ranting. Sorry. Open formats for All!

 Agreed, even if they are the moldie oldie type.