.doc format must die, was: Moving to non-Word formats [long]

[M. Fioretti]

On Tue, Jun 16, 2020 12:20:12 PM -0400, Doug wrote:

> whether you like it or not, WORD is the format they expect, so use
> it. I save everything in .doc (1997-2003) format, because everyone
> in the world can read it and work with it. Like it or not, WORD is
> here to stay!

The position above (NOTHING personal, of course!) officially makes
2020 as nineteen years of advocating free as in freedom office suites
in the wrong way. To see why, please have a look at these posts:

http://stop.zona-m.net/2013/11/shall-we-waste-twelve-more-years-promoting-free-office-suites-instead-of-open-office-formats/

http://stop.zona-m.net/2013/09/the-correct-way-to-use-and-advocate-oo-o-and-the-real-reason-to-do-it/

http://stop.zona-m.net/2018/02/in-2018-libre-office-still-promoted-in-the-wrong-way/

Again, nothing personal. Just a reminder that we use software to
manage documents, not the way around. So of course the document format
is much more important than the software. If the format is free as in
freedom, the license of the software managing it becomes almost
irrelevant. But it must be the RIGHT format. This is not 2009. People
who really cannot read and write ODF files **TODAY** are people who
haven't updated their software for too many years to be taken
seriously (yes, I know one cannot always ignore them in real life, but
let's say things as they are anyway).  Finally, (besides all the basic
issues mentioned in the posts above) ODF is the way to go, also
because it is waaaaaaay easier, and fun, to process it with simple
scripts:

http://freesoftware.zona-m.net/tag/odf-scripting/

Marco
-- 

M. Fioretti http://mfioretti.com                   http://stop.zona-m.net

Your own civil rights and the quality of your life heavily depend on how
software is used *around* you