[wilhelmtux-discussion] Comknight Netzwerk, pdf "illiteratismo" - OFCOM should set an example in the use of ICT tools towards Information society

[Redazione ADISI]

To: OFCOM: Roberto Rivola, Sabina Brenner and Linda Cotti (in charge of the
Comknight Netzwerk Newsletter)
Cc to: Chiara Simoneschi-Cortesi, Wolf Ludwig, Fredy Conrad (as members of
same, listed on www.comknight.ch , whom I happen tobe already corresponding
with); Andy Carvin of www.benton.org  because he gave the info about the pdf
> html converter at Adobe's; Wilhelm Tux's discussion list because the theme
of newsletters from federal administrations making immoderate and irrational
use of PDF's in their newsletters came up in the list's discussions before

Dear Editors of the Comknight Netzwerk Newsletter,

When Fredy Conrad drew my attention to the technical problems in the first
page of your Newsletter's attached  PDF,
http://www.comknight.ch/italiano/illeteratismo.pdf , I tried the URL and got
an error message. So I tried using Adobe's PDF -> html converter, which the
Benton foundation (www.benton.org ) always indicate whenever they post a PDF
at their site (thank you, Mr Carvin, for the indication):
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/access_simple_form.html . In effect -
see below - the converter was unable to read anything in the first page (see
the result at the end of this e-mail). Same problem with the German and
French versions. Was there anything in this first page, though, or was the
first page really blank, the result of a mistake in making the PDF?

In the context of the Infosociety (www.infosociety.ch ) newsletter, of which
you are the editors too, I already drew your attention to this conversion
problem. See my e-mail dated Nov. 2 and entitled "Newsletter 34 - Septembre
2003 - perplexités".  Due to the unjustified  3-column format in the PDF for
the Infosociety Newsletter #34, putting it  through the Adobe converter
jigged the column pieces into unreadability.

 But let's come back to the
http://www.comknight.ch/italiano/illeteratismo.pdf in the Comknight Netzwerk
newsletter:

- May I, again, entreat you to read Vincent Flanders' "Chairs are for
sitting. PDF is for Printing"
 (http://www.webpagesthatsuck.com/pdf.html ) and the other texts he links to
in this article? These texts are very easy to read, even for people with no
particular knowledge of ICT.

- May I, again, entreat you to check the convertibility to html of your
PDF's before putting them online?

- May I, again and above all, entreat you to keep your immoderate and
unrequited love for PDF in check, and to stop using PDFs where html pages
would be far more appropriate?

And finally, may I, again, ask you why you use Newsletters as communication
means in networks like Comknight and Infosociety, when the appropriate tool
would be a mailing list?

OFCOM (www.bakom.ch ) and its initiatives Comknight Netzwerk and Infosociety
should set an example towards proper use of the ICT tools in the
very-late-budding Swiss information society. So far, saying that it doesn't
is a crass understatement. But one of the advantages of information society
culture is that it looks ahead, not towards the past. If you don't know how
to use these tools, you can learn, and it is not all that difficult.  For
instance you could ask your colleagues at the Office of the Swiss Federal
Data Protection Commissioner, for instance - they know: have a look at their
www.edsb.ch/f/aktuell/index.htm, please.

Sincerely

Per la redazione di ADISI
www.adisi.ch
Claude Almansi
redazione at adisi.ch


---
Result of the attempted conversion of
http://www.comknight.ch/italiano/illeteratismo.pdf  at
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/access_simple_form.html  (same problem
with http://www.comknight.ch/francais/illetrisme.pdf and
http://www.comknight.ch/deutsch/illetrismus.pdf )


Document Body Page Navigation Panel
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Un concorso dell Ufficio federale delle communicazioni ( UFCOM) e dell
Ufficio federale della cultura ( UFC) ,
sotto il patronato del consigliere federale Moritz Leuenberger / www.
comknight. ch

muovere le tecnologie dell informazione in tutte le catego-
rie della popolazione in Svizzera e in particolare presso le
persone che non sanno né utilizzarle, né abbordare in
modo critico i contenuti diffusi.


Quest anno il premio speciale verrà aggiudicato ad un ini-
ziativa avente lo scopo di superare la frattura numerica
dal punto di vista della lotta contro l illetteratismo. Il pre-
mio verrà attribuito al progetto che riuscirà a diminuire la
frattura numerica incoraggiando le persone con difficoltà
di scrittura e di lettura ad accedere alle nuove tecnologie
dell informazione e della comunicazione e aiutandole ad


acquisire le competenze per utilizzare queste tecniche.
L evoluzione sociale, economica e politica di una società
ha senso solo se riguarda tutti i suoi membri.


Christine Chenaux
Ufficio federale della cultura
Sezione cultura e società
14 aprile 2003
Tel. : 031 322 92 65


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