Did VA Linux Screw U 2?

By: Vindictive | 01June2001

For many months, the only constant form of "income" (and you'd have to stretch the meaning of the word to call it that) that this site generated was in the form of points we received every time an "Affiliate Underground" banner was displayed from VA Linux, manufacturer of computers that pre-loads our favorite Open Source operating system. Those points could be traded for t-shirts, key chain lights and other computer geeky paraphernalia, a few of which we ordered and received. We were content to allow the points to accumulate for a while, until we could order something worth having. However, late in March 2001, VA informed its Affiliate Underground members that another business entity would be taking over the program. While assuring us that points were still being accumulated for the banners displayed, and that items already ordered would be delivered, for over two weeks, there was no access to the online order form to convert those points into geek stuff. Meanwhile, of course, Affiliate Underground members continued to provide advertising banner space in exchange for those points. Those points represented a medium of exchange, in exactly the same way that money is worth nothing by itself, but something if it can be traded for goods or services. Those points were rental payments for Web real estate. In mid-April, we were informed that the Affiliate Underground program had been terminated. Although they had a few shirts left to give away, they were not planning to honor the points that had accumulated. (Un)fortunately, our share of the points was only worth $150 or so. It wasn't the kind of thing we would discuss with an expensive attorney. In an email to VA Linux, I wrote: "...You've devalued the currency to nil in order to avoid paying for advertising space. You should all be ashamed of pulling such a slimy trick. I'll bet ZDNet or News.com, etc. wouldn't put up with that particular shade of business practice if you'd been buying ad space from them." We use a VA Linux system in the office, and have had almost no trouble with it. In the past, at least, they made good products. Fortunately, there are other good computer manufacturers that offer pre-loaded Linux systems. (Not to forget the fact that most newer distributions of Linux will install just fine on your average Windoze-compatible hardware.) Given their unwillingness to live up to this particular contractual obligation (which I'd say is akin to outright theft), I don't plan to ever deal with VA Linux again, nor could I, in good conscience, recommend their products to anybody. The few t-shirts I did acquire that displays their brand name are in the rag bag. I'll make good use of them while working on my old clunker.