Newbie Evangelism Email Template

The Drake · Post by **The Drake** » September 23rd, 2003, 5:18 am

Last night, I emailed my cousin some info on how to begin using Firebird and Thunderbird. This took me a while, since there were quite a few things I wanted to tell him as well as links I wanted to give him. After I sent the email, I wondered if there is already an email template available for promoting Fbird & Tbird like there is for evangelizing them to web designers.

I seached Google for such a template, but did not find one; so I thought I'd post a template here as a time-saver for anyone wishing to promote Firebird and/or Thunderbird. (Maybe we could make this a sticky?) If such a template already exists, I apologize for the redundancy. Let me know if I have accidentally left something out that you feel is important.

To Whom It May Concern:

Mozilla Firebird is a free Internet browser that is being developed by the Mozilla Foundation, a non-profit organization funded by AOL, Sun Microsystems, Red Hat, and many other companies. It is an open source application, meaning its source code may be viewed, modified, and redistributed by the user. Firebird supports tabbed browsing and popup blocking, among other useful feature which can be viewed at http://www.mozilla.org/products/firebird/why/. To download the program, go to http://texturizer.net/firebird/download.html. Here you will find an installer program for Firebird, or you can simply download Firebird as a zip file.

Skins (called themes) for Firebird can be downloaded at http://texturizer.net/firebird/themes.html. If you are used to using Internet Explorer and would like for Firebird to have a similar look and feel, you can download either the Luna or Luna Blue theme from here.

Extensions (tools that add functionality to Firebird), can be downloaded and installed at http://texturizer.net/firebird/extensions.html. Some of the more popular extensions include the Google Bar and Tabbed Browser Extensions. Download Sort, Linky, QuickNote, and the RSS Reader Panel are also quite useful.

Macromedia Flash does not come bundled with Mozilla Firebird, but you can download and install it for free at
<a href="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash&P2_Platform=Win32&P3_Browser_Version=NetscapePre4&P5_Language=English">http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=
ShockwaveFlash&P2_Platform=Win32&P3_Browser_Version=NetscapePre4&P5_Language=English</a>.

If you would like to change the red flame icon that appears in the upper left corner of the window when Firebird is running, go to the Firebird extension page (http://texturizer.net/firebird/extensions.html) and click on the extension called FB Window Icon Adder to download and install it. This places a folder of icons labeled "icons" in the folder "...\MozillaFirebird\chrome". Now, when Firebird is running, you will see a yellow bird/flame icon appear in the upper left corner. If you want to change this icon as well, go to the "...\MozillaFirebird\chrome\icons" folder and replace it with a different icon. (Just make sure the new icon has the same name as the old icon.)

Firebird automatically blocks popup ads, but if you would like to block ads that appear on the web pages themselves, follow the instructions at http://texturizer.net/firebird/adblock.html. (Be careful, though. This can occasionally block images that are not ads, though this is pretty rare). Some other useful tricks you can do with Firebird can be found at http://texturizer.net/firebird/tips.html. One of these includes turning off the automatic resizing of images (which is turned on by default).

To get the very latest version of Firebird, go to http://komodo.mozilla.org/pub/firebird/ ... est-trunk/. These versions are designed to be used for testing, so they will always include the latest Firebird features. However, they may also contain a few bugs.

After using Firebird for a while, you decide you want to manually modify your settings in Firebird. If you are using Windows XP, you can do this by looking at the files located in C:\Documents and Settings\<YourUserName>\Application Data\Phoenix. This folder contains your cache and profile information.

Mozilla Thunderbird is a free, open source email client that is also being developed by the Mozilla Foundation. It has many useful features, including a very smart junk mail filter. For more information on it, you can go to http://www.mozilla.org/projects/thunderbird/. An installer for the program can be found at http://texturizer.net/thunderbird/download.html. Thunderbird is also available for download as a zip file from this location.

Like Firebird, Thunderbird also supports skins, or themes, which can be downloaded at http://texturizer.net/thunderbird/themes.html.

Furthermore, Thunderbird also supports extensions, which can be downloaded at http://texturizer.net/thunderbird/extensions.html.

If you want to minimize Thunderbird to the system tray, an extension to do so can be found at http://www.protonfx.com/download/thundertray06.zip.

To get the latest news about Mozilla Firebird or Mozilla Thunderbird, go to http://www.mozillazine.org. If you have any other questions about either of these programs, there is a forum where you can ask them at http://forums.mozillazine.org/.

Enjoy, and thank you for trying Mozilla Firebird and Mozilla Thunderbird!

y3k · Post by **y3k** » September 23rd, 2003, 8:26 pm

as long as you only send it to people who have asked for it i dont see any problems, when iv recommended Mozilla i just give them this link with it http://mozilla.gunnars.net/

jrobbio · Post by **jrobbio** » September 24th, 2003, 6:48 am

y3k wrote:as long as you only send it to people who have asked for it i dont see any problems, when iv recommended Mozilla i just give them this link with it http://mozilla.gunnars.net/

I hope Gunnar fancies doing one of those for Firebird? Quite a bit of the info could be copy and pasted, but thanks for the link.

Rob

theflinger · Post by **theflinger** » September 25th, 2003, 7:06 pm

its a nice start, but i think you are going a bit too detailed. IMO, showing how to change the throbber is not something that a new user just downloading firebird needs to know. but hey, its a lot better than nothing

The Drake · Post by **The Drake** » September 27th, 2003, 11:53 am

theflinger wrote:its a nice start, but i think you are going a bit too detailed. IMO, showing how to change the throbber is not something that a new user just downloading firebird needs to know. but hey, its a lot better than nothing

Huh? Who said anything about changing the throbber? I'm talking about changing the icon in the upper left hand corner. (The flame icon)

I know what you mean that it might be overly-detailed for first time users, but when I first downloaded Firebird, that was one of the things I wanted to change right away. No offence to whomever made that icon, but it just doesn't agree with me.

Ashitaka · Post by **Ashitaka** » September 29th, 2003, 5:30 am

Now what we need is a template for the countless webmasters who think IE is the only web browser in existence.

Carson · Post by **Carson** » September 30th, 2003, 9:20 am

The_Drake, that's quite a nicely-done job you've done there.

First let me maybe interpret theflinger's "Throbber" comment (with apologies to theflinger :-)

): The reference to changing the Throbber was a metaphor; i.e. you didn't actually include that info, but I believe the point was that your article was so thorough it may be TOO thorough; sort of like saying "you've included everything but the kitchen sink."

(If readers enjoy logic, The_Drake's reaction was the expected one to a "Straw Man Argument," in which a stance is exaggerated to make a point. The allusion is to a "straw man," which is easier to knock down than a real person. The exaggerated rendition is more easily defeated. However, theflinger's happy emoticon shows there was no "straw man" intended at all; it was merely meant metaphorically. Written words are more forceful than spoken; hence the use of emoticons. :-)

)

Next on the list: The_Drake, I sent a friend a reference to the Birds, too, although the e-mail I sent out was very casual. Here's part of it. There wuz more, but it was contrasting the things I really DON'T like in Microsoft to the things I really enjoy in the Birds. I won't include most of that here, because it's too close to flaming MS, and, besides, cutting down one guy's product does not logically work to promote the competition's product, which may be even worse. Anyway, here's some of mine. It went under the terribly long title of "I WAS WANDERING THROUGH THE INTERNET, WHEN A PRETTY BROWSER CAME UP TO ME AND SAID, 'HEY, BIG BOY, YOU LOOKING FOR A GOOD TIME?'":

------------------------------------

Well, after some fiddling around (several weeks of it), I'm getting almost just about quite possibly ready to suggest (very cautiously, of course) to SOME of my friends that they might enjoy, or almost enjoy, or at least find a not entirely unpleasant experience in, checking out the two free internet facilitators called Mozilla Firebird (the browser) and Mozilla Thunderbird (the stand-alone e-mail server that can easily work as a default with Telus).

They are available for any version of Windows, Mac, or Linux.

They're free.

They are not quite finished yet. They are an evolving project deriving originally from Netscape > Mozilla > Firebird.

They are the very antithesis of Microsoft. There is no heavy-handedness whatever, no obtuseness, no marketing, no profiteering, no lying, and no telling you that what you think or want is of no importance.

Instead these are light-weight, very creative, you-can-help-out-if-you-want, programs for people who won't mind too much if they discover a glitch. Actually there are very few glitches to be discovered in ordinary use. But both Firebird and Thunderbird have oodles of extra eye-candy and fritterware and genuinely creative conveniences just begging to be tweaked in--little niceties that don't exist at all in Internet Explorer or Outlook Express. If you go for some of these pretty ice-cream cones, you can run into minor snags.

In fact, if you use these programs at all, you're considered a "tester," and there are friendly, supportive forums to help you out. I had a bit of help from guys in eastern Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Australia, and the USA.

------------------------------------

I think, The_Drake, yours is ten times better, in being much, much more informative. Actually yours is like a memo to people who are just coming into Firebird, setting things up, and getting to know their way around. ("Say, what's a Throbber? Isn't this a Family browser? Well, maybe I should come out of the closet and change my Throbber, too.")

I only wondered whether your beautifully-crafted article might be wasted on the people who were a bit less aware of computers; a bit more fearful, perhaps. I don't know; I'm just wondering.

Anyway, you did come up with an excellent explanation; :-)

that's for sure. Thanks a lot.

theflinger · Post by **theflinger** » October 1st, 2003, 10:24 am

The_Drake wrote:
theflinger wrote:its a nice start, but i think you are going a bit too detailed. IMO, showing how to change the throbber is not something that a new user just downloading firebird needs to know. but hey, its a lot better than nothing

Huh? Who said anything about changing the throbber? I'm talking about changing the icon in the upper left hand corner. (The flame icon)

I know what you mean that it might be overly-detailed for first time users, but when I first downloaded Firebird, that was one of the things I wanted to change right away. No offence to whomever made that icon, but it just doesn't agree with me.

ah pardon my misread- but i believe my point still holds....on my system at least, its small and barely noticable- in fact, the only times I see it are when I go to the File->* menu which I rarely do.

and

Carson wrote:First let me maybe interpret theflinger's "Throbber" comment (with apologies to theflinger ): The reference to changing the Throbber was a metaphor; i.e. you didn't actually include that info, but I believe the point was that your article was so thorough it may be TOO thorough; sort of like saying "you've included everything but the kitchen sink."

thanks for the backup Carson, but I was actually just being stupid

I still think that its too much information, but JMO

The Drake · Post by **The Drake** » October 1st, 2003, 6:27 pm

I still think that its too much information, but JMO

Right, it probably is too much for most people. However, I figured it would be better to give too much info, rather than too little. It's much easier to delete a paragraph than to type one. This was designed to be a framework that can easily be whittled down.

The Drake · Post by **The Drake** » October 1st, 2003, 6:28 pm

I still think that its too much information, but JMO

Right, it probably is too much for most people. However, I figured it would be better to give too much info, rather than too little. It's much easier to delete a paragraph than to type one. This was designed to be a framework that can easily be whittled down as needed.

Dammit. Sorry for the extra post. I submitted my post, clicked back, and then edited and resubmitted again. Guess that double posts.

mjt · Post by **mjt** » October 10th, 2003, 11:21 am

This web site is blocking Mozilla Firebird (and I suspect any other Gecko based browser) - http://www.step.org.uk

Since I am an engineer I don't really have the talent for writing persuasive emails to why they should not be using browser sniffers (and therefore not blocking proper web browsers).

Can somebody help me with this please?

Of course if you knew to link in at the appropriate point it would be OK - http://www.step.org.uk/subindex.asp

y3k · Post by **y3k** » October 10th, 2003, 8:29 pm

"you must be using netscape 3 or better to view these pages" :roll:

perfect example of why browser sniffing is a bad thing

quite a nice site once you get in

mjt · Post by **mjt** » October 11th, 2003, 3:20 am

If you try to click on the links it doesn't quite work, does it.

But it's not the html since that would validate (if they bothered to use DOCTYPES, etc).

Newbie Evangelism Email Template

Newbie Evangelism Email Template

The Throbber Factor