[Okfn-ca] Fwd: [okfn-discuss] Free Software tools for OKFN -- please contribute

Sat Nov 30 17:33:25 UTC 2013

Extraits de la conversation en cours
https://lists.okfn.org/pipermail/okfn-discuss/2013-November/009994.html

Free Software Foundation : http://www.fsf.org/about/
Définition citée par la FSF : http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html

-------- Message original --------
Sujet: 	Re: [okfn-discuss] Free Software tools for OKFN -- please 
contribute
Date : 	Fri, 29 Nov 2013 16:31:20 -0800
De : 	Aaron Wolf <wolftune at gmail.com>
Répondre à : 	Open Knowledge Foundation discussion list 
<okfn-discuss at lists.okfn.org>
Pour : 	Gene Shackman <eval_gene at yahoo.com>, Open Knowledge Foundation 
discussion list <okfn-discuss at lists.okfn.org>

Hi Gene,

The Free Software movement has now been around for over 30 years. This 
is not a question of starting a new initiative. What people are asking 
is that OKF align with the goals of this decades-long and continuing 
movement. The struggles that the movement has had in interesting the 
general public are complex and involve everything from internal debates 
to practical challenges to sabotage by proprietary interests.

The issue in Free Software is /freedom/. It is the problem that when we 
all rely on a technology than an undemocratic institution controls, it 
means they have power over us. They can invade our privacy, influence 
how the technology is used and by whom and change elements of it at will 
in ways that serve their interests over the interests of the public.

The issues about whether the public cares about this are similar to the 
ways they care or don't care about Open Data or other types of Open 
Knowledge. Someone who doesn't understand chemistry isn't going to 
immediately care about chemistry research to be open, but some people 
might recognize the significance and what it means for society overall.

There is no way to make average users care about Free/Libre Open-Source 
software without explaining what that means and why it matters. At any 
rate, the issue /here/ isn't about reaching the public, it's about 
reaching the OKF community who have no excuse to remain willfully 
ignorant about these issues.

I hope all this comes across as just informative; I don't mean it as a 
rebuke to anything you said. Your points are all fine in essence.

Respectfully,
Aaron

--
Aaron Wolf
wolftune.com <http://wolftune.com/>

On Fri, Nov 29, 2013 at 4:18 PM, Gene Shackman <eval_gene at yahoo.com 
<mailto:eval_gene at yahoo.com>> wrote:

    Folks will want stuff that is easy to access and is "free", that is,
    most people won't want to pay for stuff. The open part won't be very
    important to the average user.

    The FSF definition is okay
    "Free software is a matter of the users' freedom to run, copy,
    distribute, study, change and improve the software."
    http://directory.fsf.org/wiki/Main_Page

    As long as the software is "free", which to most folks means don't
    have to pay, then some folks will try it or use it.

    So I guess the question is: what is your goal? If you want lots of
    people to use the software, make it easy to find and get (and of
    course easy to use), and don't add a lot of technical stuff about
    what "free" or "open" means. It won't matter to most. Most will just
    want stuff they don't have to pay for.

    If you want to educate the public, maybe have a link on the side
    saying "if you want to learn more about what 'free' means, click
    here." There you can add technical stuff.

    Then the next question is, why do you need the average user to learn
    what "free" or "open" means? What is the end game? Do you want
    people to vote differently on something? To contribute money to okfn
    or fsf? To not use MS Office?

    Gene

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    *From:* Rob Myers <rob at robmyers.org <mailto:rob at robmyers.org>>
    *To:* okfn-discuss at lists.okfn.org <mailto:okfn-discuss at lists.okfn.org>
    *Sent:* Friday, November 29, 2013 6:54 PM
    *Subject:* Re: [okfn-discuss] Free Software tools for OKFN -- please
    contribute

    On 29/11/13 09:56 PM, Gene Shackman wrote:
     >
     > If you want to sell this to the public, you need a better term than
    "free" (and not "libre"). Because people will think free means free to
    use. "Free and open" might do it. Most people probably have some vague
    idea what open means. Or "free and open source".

    People will misunderstand Free precisely once. It's easy to explain.

    "Open" is also potentially ambiguous, that's why there's the Open
    Definition.

    - Rob.

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