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Now is the time to support the FSF, so they can fight this thing. It'd be awful if they had to give out private emails and other communication.

Become a member of the FSF and support them financially. (I am already a member). You can also send anonymous donations, or buy something from GNU Press.

> He doesn't publish any papers

You're right, no papers, just books and essays.

Most importantly, he's the closest thing to a "leader" in the Free Software movement.

(Texinfo is several years older than either PDF or HTML. If web browsers had already existed the GNU project probably wouldn't have invented info browsers.)

Or you could even patronize the GNU Press.

Well not if you actually wanted a book on Autoconf, Automake or Libtool. None of those are available.

Or you could even patronize the GNU Press. Canonical documentation, and the money goes back to the fine folks that brought us the Free Software in question.

-Peter

You know what? They're not on to something. They have the popular opinion. Granted, they shouldn't be faulted for it, per se, because they probably haven't really thought about it and they're not aware of alternatives.

However, that's where you come in. When they ask "I have IE, why would I need Mozilla?", that's your opportunity to mention the virtues and importance of Free Software.

You should indicate the benefits of Free Software, using analogy they can understand.

Explain that their personal Freedom is at stake (because they probably don't understand that it is).

Point out practical benefits. In this case, Mozilla is a browser that is more accurately standards compliant. Don't forget to explain that complying with standards insures the web is exactly what we expect it to be -- a place for all people to exchange thoughts and information. Their choice of web browser shouldn't be a part of that, but thanks to poorly implemented or "extended" standards, it is. (Yes, I know column attribute rendering is still broken in Mozilla, but it's still better than IE.)

If you don't want to do all the research yourself, buy RMS' book to fund the FSF, and read it. (If you don't want to buy it, read the essays online. He obviously knows the message is more important than the money.)

The worst thing you could do is roll over. Now, one more person is walking around uninformed about the serious threats opposing personal Freedom in the computing world (which, you should point out, is increasingly becoming the "real" world). Morever, they think they do understand it, given that their computer buddy (who is in the know, right?) agreed.

I've had this conversation many times, with many people. They don't always agree, but at least they've heard a portion of the argument and they'll have it to think about in the future. In fact, I've had a number of people switch to Mozilla as a direct result of the type of discussion you've described; but only because I took the time to explain it to them.

Once again, but not for the last time, the point is the Freedom, not the software. The more of us that teach this, the better of we'll all be.

Can someone tell me why the comment input textarea is only 10x50? It's insanely annoying. and completely off-putting to all but the most determined! (I bet most people write their comments in another window and then cut and paste!)

uhh, I think it mentioned the discount for things published by gnu press - as in books. yep here is the actual message from their page: 20% Discount on GNU Press Purchases You will receive a 20% discount on all purchases of FSF's GNU Press merchandise. This discount includes all products sold by FSF -- from books to CDs to clothing.