Readers of FoxNews.com have blasted a Sept. 30 column criticizing Massachusetts’ decision to support an open document format for its published documents, a move that would limit or even eliminate the use of Microsoft Corp.’s Office software in state government agencies. The column, “Massachusetts Should Close Down OpenDocument,” was written by James Prendergast, executive director of the Americans for Technology Leadership, an organization Microsoft co-founded. Several of the letters, published Wednesday on FoxNews.com, accuse Microsoft of trying to promote its own interests by presenting Prendergast, writing for a Microsoft-linked organization, as an unbiased observer. This practice is known as “astroturfing,”...