Posts: 2833 from 2003/2/8
From: USA
Well, first off, let me say congradulations to Ron's customers--awesome gift you all got. Also, way to go Ron, you sure made some peoples' day!
Now, for polyhead...
Oh yeah, you know you've got this coming! [inserts drumroll]
I present for you, lessons in protesting! Before you go and get angry, I'm going to let you in on a little secret--protesting isn't running around fussing at everyone. Nope, not at all. A protest has to have several important things, a goal, a plan, and work. Without these things, any protest is doomed.
Before I go any further, I'm telling you right now that a well executed protest against Genesi will be likely to hurt
ME, and I happen to like being able to eat. It will hurt Matt, and probably some other friends of yours too. However, I can't just watch you flounder around without a purpose other than "hurt genesi until they do whatever it is that may be right."
First, you need a goal. It doesn't matter what you protest, greeting cards, Genesi, or some shoe company that's using sweat-shops in the orient. You have to know what is wrong, and what will suffice as repairs or repiration. If you cannot determine what it is that makes everything ducky again, you aren't getting anywhere. Figure out what your goal is, whether it's some kind of public apology, a change in position, or some exchange of money between two parties. Whatever it is, you
cannot win if you don't have a condition of victory.
Next, you need to develop a plan to carry a protest from "grr this makes me mad" to the previously outlined victory. This plan will have to take into account the target audience to. You have to figure out what works best where. A campaign to stop people from buying a Pegasos isn't going to work at MorphZone, that's like sending a letter to everyone whos just bought a Ford telling them to not buy one. The method of protest has to match the audience you're aiming for and the conditions of the victory. In some cases those silly petitions are more effective than a "don't buy" policy. There are a number of different ways of protesting, but you have to match the correct way with the correct group based on the goal of the protest.
This all equates to huge amounts of work. It isn't easy. And, believe it or not, the amount of work can be inversly proportional to the size of the company--depending on the goals. If it's a petition, you need advertising, weblinks, someone going to shows collecting signitures. If it's a consumer based protest, you have to go to the folks who haven't purchased yet, and you have to have compelling evidence, facts, figures, and reasons. Protesting something is just plain work.
Don't just spin your wheels, if you want to protest--please do it correctly. Take the time to determine what the problem is, how it should be corrected, get a plan, and prepare to work your butt off. I apologize to everyone for the rant, yet this needed to be said.
Again, I don't condone a protest, and my stomach can't afford one. I said it in the other thread about this, "I don't know all the facts." To be honest, I don't even know a quarter of them. With all of this said, can this thread please go back to what it was meant for, thanking ComputerCity for the free gifts bestowed upon their customers?
Thanks you,
Targhan