[HCoop-Misc] Ragingwire Telecommunications

[Nathan Kennedy]

> On Fri, 2008-01-25 at 13:59 -0500, Nathan Kennedy wrote:
> This is well-written if a bit long. Big blocks of text turn readers off,
> especially if you're giving them an earful. I think you should ream
> their asses for half a page or less.

Editing down takes as much work as writing.  I don't know how I can get it
down to half a page without just saying "You suck," but how's this?

To RagingWire,

I am a founding member, director, and officer of HCoop, Inc., an internet
hosting cooperative that provides flexible managed hosting solutions to
its member-owners at cost.  Of course, our most important outside
relationship is with our colocation providers who provide us with our
physical plant, power, network connections, and bandwidth.

In searching out business partners, the usual metrics of price, peering,
terms, and so on are the starting point.  But given the complexity and
breadth of the market, it is intangibles that seal the deal.  Besides my
duties at HCoop, I am also a law student.  Having read the court's opinion
in _Ross v. RagingWire_, you may have been right on the law and won in the
courtroom, but you were still wrong in your actions.  At the end of the
day, you hired a disabled air force veteran, and then threw him out on
his butt because he was taking prescribed medicine speciifically authorized
by state law.  And then, for good measure, you litigated it up all the way
to the Supreme Court to make sure that anyone in Mr. Ross's position doesn't
have a leg to stand on.

If this is how you treat your own employees, how will you treat your clients?
How could I as a customer trust that you would not cave in to the most
unreasonable and unlawful government demands to the detriment of my company
and my clients, or, as you did with Mr. Ross, preempt government, act as
your own investigative and judicial force?

The costs of litigating this case were clearly much greater than any risk
of lost future opportunities.  Moreover, I and others consider the values
and employee morale of all prospective providers, because it is the right
thing to do and because these companies are the most healthy and provide
the best service.  I would never partner with a company that is bleeding
revenue on these kinds of purely voluntary crusades, and until such time
as RagingWire disavows this case and takes remedial action, I will always
have to advise my colleagues to do the same.

This opinion is solely my own and does not represent the view of HCoop, Inc.

Sincerely,
Nathan Kennedy