FOI requests and WhatDoTheyKnow

[David Hansen]

On 16 May 2008 at 18:26, Ian Mason wrote:

> http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/ is a website that helps you submit FOI  
> requests and then publicly tracks their progress. It has a number of  
> advantages principal of which, in my opinion, is that it could build  
> into a very useful central repository of FOI replies.

If government departments do not send out "replies" which consist of, 
"please see the attached Microshit Word document", then this would 
indeed be the case. It would also mean some questions would not be 
asked as the information is already available.

I fear that some organisations are addicted to Microshit Word and they 
can become very defensive when they are asked to reply using open 
standards. I now inform all officials that I don't want a reply in 
Microshit Word just to head off this problem.

I await the answers to my question to Fife Council about RIP with 
interest.






-- 
  David Hansen, Edinburgh 
 I will *always* explain revoked encryption keys, unless RIP prevents 
me   
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/00023--e.htm#54