[okfn-advisory] Open Knowledge and Reset the Net

Thu Jun 5 19:46:26 UTC 2014

That's great news - thanks for this.

On 5 June 2014 20:36, Laura James <laura.james at okfn.org> wrote:
> Glyn, Nat,
>
> Thank you - super helpful and the quick responses are really appreciated.
>
> We've endorsed Reset The Net on Twitter and will see what else we can do
> tonight.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Laura
>
>
> On 5 June 2014 17:42, Nat Torkington <nathan at torkington.com> wrote:
>>
>> How I see it ...
>>
>> It’s appropriate to have multiple levels of “support”: endorse, fund,
>> cooperate.  Endorse = web splash and press release; fund = those + $;
>> cooperate = staff time and possibly $ towards public or private activity.
>>
>> The closer to your core mission, the greater the support you can offer.
>>
>> Your organisation’s reputation is what you “spend” when you endorse
>> another project’s actions.  Just as with money, you have to be conservative
>> with how you spend your reputation lest it dissipate and your organisation
>> stands for nothing but “lefty pinko hippies” or “outrage merchants".  (He
>> says, as an outraged lefty pinko hippy)
>>
>> This means you probably can’t endorse or fund everything that has an
>> overlap with your mission.
>>
>> I would support Reset the Net in particular, as its emphasis is on
>> increasing the security of the users of the Internet and this is relevant to
>> the subset of the OKFN audience who are data journalists and evidence-based
>> pro-democracy activists.   As others pointed out, if the data is open but
>> your use of it is surveilled, you won’t be able to effect the change you
>> want.
>>
>> But I’d be cautious about embracing every anti-surveillance
>> pro-net-neutrality anti-kettling pro-democracy anti-fox-hunting Internet
>> campaign that wanders into your stakeholders’ attention.  You probably have
>> room for one of those a year, and where possible a positive one—clicking
>> through should HELP your audience, not merely add their name to a pledge or
>> protest form.
>>
>> Cheers;
>>
>> Nat
>> --
>> Nat Torkington
>> Sent on the hoof
>>
>> On 5 June 2014 at 9:21:58 am, glyn moody (glyn.moody at gmail.com) wrote:
>>
>> I feel strongly that you should support Reset the Net in particular,
>> and similar moves in general.
>>
>> Open knowledge is negated by a Net that is subject to almost total
>> surveillance - and we are already close that point. A Net where people
>> are free to share without constantly looking over their shoulder is an
>> essential pre-requisite for everything that Open Knowledge is trying
>> to achieve. Refusing to join the efforts to rein in surveillance
>> would be not just blinkered and short-sighted, but ultimately
>> self-destructive.
>>
>> On 5 June 2014 17:02, Laura James <laura.james at okfn.org> wrote:
>> > All,
>> >
>> > I'd love your opinions on this topic - should we formally support
>> > initiatives such as Reset the Net which don't have a specific
>> > open-knowledge
>> > aspect? What about Reset the Net specifically?
>> >
>> > In the thread below, I've followed the stance we've generally had in the
>> > past, but perhaps it needs updating - your thoughts would be most
>> > helpful
>> > and welcome.
>> >
>> > Best regards,
>> >
>> > Laura
>> >
>> >
>> > ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>> > From: Laura James <laura.james at okfn.org>
>> > Date: 5 June 2014 16:55
>> > Subject: Re: [okfn-discuss] OKFN and Reset the Net
>> > To: Open Knowledge Foundation discussion list
>> > <okfn-discuss at lists.okfn.org>
>> >
>> >
>> > Hi Will,
>> >
>> > I'd be delighted to hear from others what they think and look forward to
>> > more responses here.
>> >
>> > I totally take your point on government surveillance being counter to a
>> > supportive environment for open data action, and of course there's lots
>> > of
>> > other supportive environment elements for media and civil society, and
>> > we
>> > need to figure out which we actively support as an organisation and
>> > which we
>> > don't. My sense would be that 'is there an open knowledge element' is
>> > the
>> > right line to draw, but that may be wrong if there are other
>> > non-contentious
>> > support areas the full open knowledge community would whole-heartedly
>> > back.
>> > The level of controversy is relevant because if we are representing the
>> > whole open knowledge community, we need to have a sense as to whether
>> > the
>> > whole community would reasonably back it; of course for specific
>> > chapters
>> > it's their own call as they are only representing their constituency.
>> >
>> > In the case of Reset the Net specifically, I've seen some opposition
>> > online
>> > to the initiative because it has the backing of Google - what do folks
>> > here
>> > think about that? Is it a concern?
>> >
>> > Laura
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > On 5 June 2014 16:28, William Waites <ww at eris.okfn.org> wrote:
>> >>
>> >> Hi Laura,
>> >>
>> >> That is a pretty bizarre position to take and seems to show a
>> >> surprising lack of understanding of the environment in which OKF
>> >> operates. For example, suppose a journalist or civil servant wants to
>> >> use some Open Data in order to draw attention to some problem in
>> >> government. Do you think it is appropriate for the same government
>> >> to be spying on them while they do this and if they are a civil servant
>> >> perhaps dismiss them on a pretext before they can finish and publish
>> >> their research? Do you think when the public sector publishes
>> >> information that it is appropriate to keep tabs on who is using that
>> >> information and for what?
>> >>
>> >> "Does not quite fit within [OKF's] remit" is alarmingly out of step
>> >> with the rest of the 'net. Have a look at the list of which other
>> >> organisations supporting this and ask yourself if it appears to be
>> >> within you understand as their remit.
>> >>
>> >> Please reconsider :)
>> >>
>> >> -w
>> >>
>> >> On Thu, 5 Jun 2014 14:30:40 +0100
>> >> Laura James <laura.james at okfn.org> wrote:
>> >>
>> >> > Hi Will,
>> >> >
>> >> > Reset the Net is an interesting initiative around freedom from mass
>> >> > surveillance by government. We try to focus our Open Knowledge
>> >> > endorsements on projects with a clear open data / open knowledge
>> >> > element. There's lots of causes out there which we might well support
>> >> > as individuals, especially around digital rights and so forth, but as
>> >> > an organisation we feel it's best to focus our support on causes
>> >> > directly related to our work and mission, which most likely means
>> >> > that we can be confident that Open Knowledge folks would support the
>> >> > cause. My sense is that Reset the Net doesn't quite fall within this
>> >> > remit; what do others think?
>> >> >
>> >> > Of course, Local Groups and Chapters may make their own decisions on
>> >> > such initiatives, in consultation with the appropriate local board of
>> >> > directors and community, and to ensure if they do sign that they make
>> >> > it clear what organisation or group they represent - ie the Chapter
>> >> > or the specific Local Group.
>> >> >
>> >> > Best regards,
>> >> >
>> >> > Laura
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> > On 5 June 2014 12:19, William Waites <ww at eris.okfn.org> wrote:
>> >> >
>> >> > > It's not too late, and it'd be really good to have the
>> >> > > https://www.resetthenet.org/ banner or splash page up
>> >> > > today on the okfn.org web site
>> >> > >
>> >> > >
>> >> > > _______________________________________________
>> >> > > okfn-discuss mailing list
>> >> > > okfn-discuss at lists.okfn.org
>> >> > > https://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/okfn-discuss
>> >> > > Unsubscribe: https://lists.okfn.org/mailman/options/okfn-discuss
>> >> > >
>> >> > >
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> _______________________________________________
>> >> okfn-discuss mailing list
>> >> okfn-discuss at lists.okfn.org
>> >> https://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/okfn-discuss
>> >> Unsubscribe: https://lists.okfn.org/mailman/options/okfn-discuss
>> >>
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > --

-- 
Best wishes

Glyn

http://opendotdotdot.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com/glynmoody
http://identi.ca/glynmoody
https://plus.google.com/+glynmoody/

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