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+<!--#include virtual="/server/header.html" -->
+<!-- Parent-Version: 1.90 -->
+<title>We Can Put an End to Word Attachments
+- GNU Project - Free Software Foundation</title>
+<meta http-equiv="keywords" content="GNU, FSF, Free Software Foundation, Linux, general, public, license, gpl, general public license, freedom, software, power, rights, word, attachment, word attachment, microsoft" />
+<meta http-equiv="description" content="This essay explains why Microsoft Word attachments to email are bad, and describes what you can do to help stop this practice." />
+
+<!--#include virtual="/philosophy/po/no-word-attachments.translist" -->
+<!--#include virtual="/server/banner.html" -->
+
+<h2>We Can Put an End to Word Attachments</h2>
+
+<p>by <strong>Richard M. Stallman</strong>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Don't you just hate receiving Word documents in email messages? Word
+attachments are annoying, but, worse than that, they impede people from
+switching to free software. Maybe we can stop this practice with a
+simple collective effort. All we have to do is ask each person who
+sends us a Word file to reconsider that way of doing things.</p>
+
+<p>
+Most computer users use Microsoft Word. That is unfortunate for them,
+since Word is proprietary software, denying its users the freedom to
+study, change, copy, and redistribute it. And because Microsoft
+changes the Word file format with each release, its users are locked
+into a system that compels them to buy each upgrade whether they want
+a change or not. They may even find, several years from now, that the
+Word documents they are writing this year can no longer be read with
+the version of Word they use then.</p>
+
+<p>
+But it hurts us, too, when they assume we use Word and send us (or
+demand that we send them) documents in Word format. Some people
+publish or post documents in Word format. Some organizations will
+only accept files in Word format: I heard from someone that he was
+unable to apply for a job because resumes had to be Word files. Even
+governments sometimes impose Word format on the public, which is truly
+outrageous.</p>
+
+<p>
+For us users of free operating systems, receiving Word documents is an
+inconvenience or an obstacle. But the worst impact of sending Word
+format is on people who might switch to free systems: they hesitate
+because they feel they must have Word available to read the Word files
+they receive. The practice of using the secret Word format for
+interchange impedes the growth of our community and the spread of
+freedom. While we notice the occasional annoyance of receiving a Word
+document, this steady and persistent harm to our community usually
+doesn't come to our attention. But it is happening all the time.</p>
+
+<p>
+Many GNU users who receive Word documents try to find ways to handle
+them. You can manage to find the somewhat obfuscated ASCII text in
+the file by skimming through it. Free software today can read most
+Word documents, but not all&mdash;the format is secret and has not been
+entirely decoded. Even worse, Microsoft can change it at any time.</p>
+
+<p>
+Worst of all, it has already done so. Microsoft Office 2007 uses by
+default a format based on the patented OOXML format. (This is the one
+that Microsoft got declared an &ldquo;open standard&rdquo; by
+political manipulation and packing standards committees.) The actual
+format is not entirely OOXML, and it is not entirely documented.
+Microsoft offers a gratis patent license for OOXML on terms which do
+not allow free implementations. We are thus beginning to receive Word
+files in a format that free programs are not even allowed to read.</p>
+
+<p>
+When you receive a Word file, if you think of that as an isolated
+event, it is natural to try to cope by finding a way to read it.
+Considered as an instance of a pernicious systematic practice, it
+calls for a different approach. Managing to read the file is treating
+a symptom of an epidemic disease; what we really want to do is stop
+the disease from spreading. That means we must convince people not to
+send or post Word documents.</p>
+
+<p>
+I therefore make a practice of responding to Word attachments with a
+polite message explaining why the practice of sending Word files is a
+bad thing, and asking the person to resend the material in a nonsecret
+format. This is a lot less work than trying to read the somewhat
+obfuscated ASCII text in the Word file. And I find that people
+usually understand the issue, and many say they will not send Word
+files to others any more.</p>
+
+<p>
+If we all do this, we will have a much larger effect. People who
+disregard one polite request may change their practice when they
+receive multiple polite requests from various people. We may be able
+to give <em>Don't send Word format!</em> the status of netiquette,
+if we start systematically raising the issue with everyone who sends
+us Word files.</p>
+
+<p>
+To make this effort efficient, you will probably want to develop a
+canned reply that you can quickly send each time it is necessary.
+I've included two examples: the version I have been using recently,
+followed by a new version that teaches a Word user how to convert to
+other useful formats. They are followed by several suggestions sent
+by other people.</p>
+
+<p>
+You can use these replies verbatim if you like, or you can personalize
+them or write your own. By all means construct a reply that fits your
+ideas and your personality&mdash;if the replies are personal and not
+all alike, that will make the campaign more effective.</p>
+
+<p>
+These replies are meant for individuals who send Word files. When you
+encounter an organization that imposes use of Word format, that calls
+for a different sort of reply; there you can raise issues of fairness
+that would not apply to an individual's actions.</p>
+
+<p>
+Some recruiters ask for resumes in Word format. Ludicrously, some
+recruiters do this even when looking for someone for a free software
+job. (Anyone using those recruiters for free software jobs is not
+likely to get a competent employee.) To help change this practice,
+you can put a link to this page into your resume, next to links to
+other formats of the resume. Anyone hunting for a Word version of the
+resume will probably read this page.</p>
+
+<p>
+This page talks about Word attachments, since they are by far the most
+common case. However, the same issues apply with other proprietary
+formats, such as PowerPoint and Excel. Please feel free to adapt the
+replies to cover those as well, if you wish.</p>
+
+<p>
+With our numbers, simply by asking, we can make a difference.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>
+<em>You sent the attachment in Microsoft Word format, a secret
+proprietary format, so I cannot read it. If you send me the plain
+text, HTML, or PDF, then I could read it.</em></p>
+
+<p>
+<em>Sending people documents in Word format has bad effects, because that
+practice puts pressure on them to use Microsoft software. In effect,
+you become a buttress of the Microsoft monopoly. This specific
+problem is a major obstacle to the broader adoption of GNU/Linux.
+Would you please reconsider the use of Word format for communication
+with other people?</em></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>
+(Explanatory note: I can handle ODF too, but it isn't very convenient
+for me, so I don't include it in my list of suggestions.)</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>
+<em>You sent the attachment in Microsoft Word format, a secret
+proprietary format, so it is hard for me to read. If you send me
+plain text, HTML, or PDF, then I will read it.</em></p>
+
+<p>
+<em>Distributing documents in Word format is bad for you and for others.
+You can't be sure what they will look like if someone views them
+with a different version of Word; they may not work at all.</em></p>
+
+<p>
+<em>Receiving Word documents is bad for you because they can carry
+viruses (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macro_virus_(computing)).
+Sending Word documents is bad for you because a Word document normally
+includes hidden information about the author, enabling those in the
+know to pry into the author's activities (maybe yours). Text that you
+think you deleted may still be embarrassingly present. See
+http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3154479.stm for more
+info.</em></p>
+
+<p>
+<em>But above all, sending people Word documents puts pressure on them
+to use Microsoft software and helps to deny them any other choice. In
+effect, you become a buttress of the Microsoft monopoly. This
+pressure is a major obstacle to the broader adoption of free
+software.</em></p>
+
+<p>
+<em>Would you please switch to a different way of sending files to other
+people, instead of Word format?</em></p>
+
+<p>
+<em>Microsoft is already starting to make Word users switch to a new
+version of Word format, based on OOXML. Its specs are 6000 pages
+long&mdash;so complex that probably no one else can ever fully implement it&mdash;and
+Microsoft can sue you for patent infringement if you try. If you
+don't wish to join in this attack against interoperability, the way to
+avoid it is by deciding not to use Word format for interchange.</em></p>
+
+<p>
+<em>Both versions of Word format allow <a href="https://outflank.nl/blog/2019/05/05/evil-clippy-ms-office-maldoc-assistant/">incorporation of malware</a>.</em></p>
+
+<p>
+<em>To convert the file to HTML using Word is simple. Open the
+document, click on File, then Save As, and in the Save As Type strip
+box at the bottom of the box, choose HTML Document or Web Page. Then
+choose Save. You can then attach the new HTML document instead of
+your Word document. Note that Word changes in inconsistent
+ways&mdash;if you see slightly different menu item names, please try
+them.</em></p>
+
+<p>
+<em>To convert to plain text is almost the same&mdash;instead of HTML
+Document, choose Text Only or Text Document as the Save As
+Type.</em></p>
+
+<p>
+<em>Your computer may also have a program to convert to PDF format.
+Select File, then Print. Scroll through available printers and select
+the PDF converter. Click on the Print button and enter a name for the
+PDF file when requested.</em></p>
+
+<p>
+<em>See http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/no-word-attachments.html for more
+about this issue.</em></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>
+Here's another approach, suggested by Bob Chassell. It requires that
+you edit it for the specific example, and it presumes you have a way
+to extract the contents and see how long they are.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>
+<em>I am puzzled. Why did you choose to send me 876,377 bytes in your
+recent message when the content is only 27,133 bytes?</em></p>
+
+<p>
+<em>You sent me five files in the non-standard, bloated .doc format that
+is Microsoft's secret, rather than in the international, public, and
+more efficient format of plain text.</em></p>
+
+<p>
+<em>Microsoft can (and did recently in Kenya and Brazil) have local
+police enforce laws that prohibit students from studying the code,
+prohibit entrepreneurs starting new companies, and prohibit
+professionals offering their services. Please don't give them your
+support.</em></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>
+John D. Ramsdell suggests people discourage the use of proprietary
+attachments by making a small statement in their <kbd>.signature</kbd>
+file:</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>
+<em>Please avoid sending me Word or PowerPoint attachments.<br />
+See http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/no-word-attachments.html</em></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>
+<a href="/philosophy/anonymous-response.html">Here is a response
+letter</a> to an email message with a Word
+attachment.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>
+Kevin Cole of the Gallaudet University in Washington,
+DC, <a href="/philosophy/kevin-cole-response.html">sends out this
+automatic reply message</a> whenever he receives a word
+attachment. (I think it is
+better to send the responses by hand, and make it clear that you have
+done so, because people will receive them better.)</p>
+
+</div><!-- for id="content", starts in the include above -->
+<!--#include virtual="/server/footer.html" -->
+<div id="footer">
+<div class="unprintable">
+
+<p>Please send general FSF &amp; GNU inquiries to
+<a href="mailto:gnu@gnu.org">&lt;gnu@gnu.org&gt;</a>.
+There are also <a href="/contact/">other ways to contact</a>
+the FSF. Broken links and other corrections or suggestions can be sent
+to <a href="mailto:webmasters@gnu.org">&lt;webmasters@gnu.org&gt;</a>.</p>
+
+<p><!-- TRANSLATORS: Ignore the original text in this paragraph,
+ replace it with the translation of these two:
+
+ We work hard and do our best to provide accurate, good quality
+ translations. However, we are not exempt from imperfection.
+ Please send your comments and general suggestions in this regard
+ to <a href="mailto:web-translators@gnu.org">
+ &lt;web-translators@gnu.org&gt;</a>.</p>
+
+ <p>For information on coordinating and submitting translations of
+ our web pages, see <a
+ href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations
+ README</a>. -->
+Please see the <a
+href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations
+README</a> for information on coordinating and submitting translations
+of this article.</p>
+</div>
+
+<!-- Regarding copyright, in general, standalone pages (as opposed to
+ files generated as part of manuals) on the GNU web server should
+ be under CC BY-ND 4.0. Please do NOT change or remove this
+ without talking with the webmasters or licensing team first.
+ Please make sure the copyright date is consistent with the
+ document. For web pages, it is ok to list just the latest year the
+ document was modified, or published.
+
+ If you wish to list earlier years, that is ok too.
+ Either "2001, 2002, 2003" or "2001-2003" are ok for specifying
+ years, as long as each year in the range is in fact a copyrightable
+ year, i.e., a year in which the document was published (including
+ being publicly visible on the web or in a revision control system).
+
+ There is more detail about copyright years in the GNU Maintainers
+ Information document, www.gnu.org/prep/maintain. -->
+
+<p>Copyright &copy; 2002, 2007, 2019, 2020 Richard M. Stallman</p>
+
+<p>This page is licensed under a <a rel="license"
+href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">Creative
+Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License</a>.</p>
+
+<!--#include virtual="/server/bottom-notes.html" -->
+
+<p class="unprintable">Updated:
+<!-- timestamp start -->
+$Date: 2020/01/07 16:56:30 $
+<!-- timestamp end -->
+</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+</body>
+</html>