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Becoming an Open Source Lobbyist?
Random Guru 42 asks: "With the recent MFP scandal in Toronto, with we taxpayers having to take the brunt of the cost of licensing and leasing software the city doesn't need, I'm wondering what it would take to lobby the city to start switching over to open source software. Has anyone ever tried to lobby your local council to make the jump away from expensive, closed software?"
but the pay sucks, and the benefits are even worse. ;>
Information is the key. Get your friends to write letters to officials. Talk to politicians. From my experience many many politicians are intersted in ways to reduce the cost of operation (Lorne Calvert, Jack Layton, so forth).
If you get involved, and convince them to go opensource, you might find yourself with a job working for them as a techie/trainer assuming you have the qualifications. When I convinced the CIC (a section of the reserves) to use open source software for the public terminals, they were all over that and I ended up spending a summer in Penhold Alberta being tech support for 65$ a day.
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The big problem is the simple fact that 'money talks.' Of course, with some OSS initiatives making money, it may not be as much of a problem, but with so many more that aren't, it is going to be a tough sell when you tell them everyone will need new training, etc. and there is no monetary benefit to the politician that would help push this.
While some may help out of goodwill or principle, there are many more that would rather be bought (and may be).
It takes a lot of dedication and preparation, remembering that persistence is key.
There are many approaches from writing (or emailing) your local congressthing to getting involving in the local gov't.
However, I find the best way to get through to a politician is to ly in wait behind their car in the underground parking garage at work (even better if they've been working a late night). Don't forget to wear an all black jumpsuit and a black knit cap. When they approach, leap up from behind the car, arms flailing wildly and scream: "USE OPEN SOURCE! MOZILLA -- FEAR THE LIZARD!!". And then run away.
why run from Vincenzo?
I _am_ the IT person for our small local council and tried to introduce OpenOffice.org rather than spend a fortune on OfficeXP. I drafted and taught a course for a pilot group and proved the software was more than usable and compatible with externally sourced documents.
In the end OXP was purchased over my head when my manager decided that users wouldn't be happy unless they got the "real" office software. It turns out that a vocal group of old (some in age, others in attitude) users weren't happy about making any change and that their opinions were more valued than mine.
The lesson? I'm not sure. Maybe if the rate-payers had been aware of the huge potential savings then our senior management would have felt more obliged to move beyond Microsoft and encourage their staff to do the same.
Open Source is a development model, a way to create a work, usually software. While it does have many pluses compared to other development models, how a program is made generally has little impact on someones decision when they're choosing a program to use. On the other hand, Free Software is based on the Freedoms that a program has, and thus is much more business/government friendly.
Yes, you heard me. The Freedom that Free Software gives you is often the most compelling reason for anyone to switch, you just need to realize that different people value different freedoms. In this case, when talking to a government you need to remind them what freedoms they are giving up by using proprietary software. Here's a brief list of points to get your started.
My personal favorite of XP's EULA - Section 9 concerns upgrading and says "After upgrading, you may no longer use the software that formed the basis for your upgrade." This means that if you have a CD of XP SP1 and upgrade to SP2, then according to this agreement you have to buy a totally new copy of Windows to reinstall should your system get hosed.
EULAs are intentionally vague, and chain the user with restrictions so draconian that it's nearly impossible to use the software normally without voiding the EULA. Do some research, it is very easy to come up with a very long list of legal traps that would persuade a user away from proprietary software.
And then you can mention that Free Software does not come with such restrictions. Indeed, one of the basic points of the Free Software definition is that the software should be free to use in any way the user sees fit, without restrictions. A little research into this and you can have one hell of an argument.
One PHB I worked for wrote a complaint about how bad OpenOffice was, and how bad Linux was. He calls the OS on his home machine (XP Home) "Word".
The punch-line? Said PHB wrote out the complaint using OpenOffice (1.1.2) on a Linux box (Mandrake 10.0 using KDE 3.2) without realising it. One of his receptionists used the same system for three days before she suddenly frowned at the screen and said, "Hey... this isn't Microsoft Word, is it?" Cue the quiet gristly sounds of Leon biting his tongue.
So... beware of people telling you OpenOffice has a steep learning curve. If your office is dumb enough to base its digital life around a big sheaf of Excel and/or Word macros, then yes, they will have major issues with that. They will have major issues with anything. Everyone else - the gazillions of people who wouldn't know what a macro was even if it leaped out of the screen and bit them on the nose - will get along just fine.
Got time? Spend some of it coding or testing
The poster asks
My guess is that it will take more than just an argument over price to win people to software under a license approved by the Open Source Initiative. Serious proprietors looking at a big potential client will reduce their price to free if need be in order to secure the deal.
Microsoft revealed that they were willing to do this (I recall reading a New York Times article which included a quote from an internal a memo which clearly indicated they were to "lose no sale to Linux[sic]"). So if you're only prepared to go into the debate talking only about price and practical advantage, you could very well lose to a proprietor, perhaps even acting as a buttress for the proprietor.
The Free Software Foundation warned against this in their essay about the differences between the free software and open source movements. That difference is quite pertinant here for your question:
For example, making private derivatives could be important to pursuing your town's specific needs. Yet permission to make private derivatives are not included in the definition of "open source" because of that movement's values (this is why the Apple Public Source License which used to require reporting some changes to Apple or publishing changes qualified as an open source license but not a free software license. Changes to the APSL have been made and v2.0 of the APSL qualifies as a free software license. These improvements would not have been made without someone pushing for them). Hence, if you genuinely seek software freedom for the users of this software, I suggest conveying the importance of focusing on user's freedoms to share and modify software.
Digital Citizen
Is to go to one of the Open House budget meetings that are going on. That way you can explain that they dont need to pay 600 dollars per pc for office, when they can spend 0 dollars getting OpenOffice, and that it has more/better features. I would stay away from Linux pushing for now, as the councilor probably never heard of any os other then macs os. Even if you say its free, there is all the cost of re-training everone to use Linux instead. Keep with Windows OS programs
If you cant get to any of those, get in contact with the councilor doing the budget (he ran in Toronto East, and his last name starts with an S, sorry im not more specific).
Burn the cd listed for him here, and give it away to every city councilor available:
The Open Cd 2 as listed on Slashdot previously.
I'm wondering what it would take to lobby the city to start switching
What would it take? How about a $25,000 cash bribe?
"Most managers simply don't understand that the fact that it's Free and costs nothing means that it's crap."
I think that you meant "Most managers simply don't understand that the fact that it's Free and costs nothing doesn't mean that it's crap.".
My brother works at Toronto city hall and he was complaining to me earlier about how his own computer (at work) barely works.
I asked him why he couldn't install Firefox, or OO.o, and it was all about IT. So then I asked him to tell IT to do it, but he said that he would have to get permission from this person, and that person, so it's very difficult to change anything there. I'm assuming it's very similar in many other organizations out there and I won't put the blame on the IT people, however they should definitely try their best to implement much needed apps like Firefox, PGP (for email), spyware tools etc.
The City of Toronto recently put out RFPs for replacement PCs. The MFP-leased ones are now up, and the city had asked for companies to bid on contracts to replace them with new machines and software.
Guess what? The bidding process is over, and no companies that were offering free software qualified under the terms. The contract has now been awarded to another company (who will be providing MS software, surprise surprise), which I'm sure will be scrutinized quite a bit to make sure there's no rip-offs. So try again in 3 years when the next lease is up, but this time put together a professional proposal complying with their RFP requirements and I'm sure it would be considered.
I think if a company came along and actually BID on the contract, preparing a decent presentation as to how the city would save costs, they would have to listen. After all, the City of Toronto is very interested in saving money, as they've dug themselves quite the hole in recent years (mostly due to the Province of Ontario not being particularly generous).
You can accomplish anything you set your mind to. The impossible just takes a little longer.
No seriously, I do.
.... Just make sure you shower and find some nice clothes before showing up. Nothing worse than a stinky tech volunteer. yeeesh. Watch a few episodes of What Not To Wear, while you're at it. Shaving wouldn't hurt either. How old are those shoes? I thought so. If you can't buy new ones, throw them stinky old sneakers in the washing machine the day before you come by too - they will be fine, honest. Sun dry them if you're really worried about then falling apart.
I would like nothing more than eliminating the cost of my Microsoft contract.
How can you help City Hall accomplish this? Volunteer your services to work for them. Tell them you want to work on a program to manage -insert your software to promote-, and that you will give them a proof of concept before rolling it out that will not interfere with work already being done. "You wont even know I'm here."
Not just a great way to get yourself a job, but a career. Save a bunch of money by implementing a nice piece of software - then when you tell them "My work here is done." They just about stroke out and get council's authorization for a new position. Where do they get the money? Cost savings - you already did the proof.
This should be particularly easy with all the baby boomers retiring - there are not a lot of people to take their place. I believe you'll find their traditional ways of doing business more than a little inefficient. Eliminating an existing position without someone willfully leaving is like giving yourself a tonsillectomy - even people watching get nervous and try to stop you. The secret to saving money in government is, and will be for some time, wait till they retire, then don't hire a replacement.
Here is what I believe to be your plans downfall: The difference between recommending open source (free software GNU or whatever other pretentious name they are using this month) in most environments, and implementing open source is reality; one is possible, one is imaginary.
I say this because I am speaking from experience. I've worked with Linux for over 10 years, it has not saved me a dime. I'm not saying it couldn't, I'm just saying I've been unsuccessful so far.
However, I would never turn away a volunteer that wanted to prove me wrong. If you are so sure free software is worth it - put your time (money) where your mouth is, I sure won't stop you from teaching me, (or more likely yourself) something - that will benefit us both.
Most people find this hard to believe, but there are little or no secrets at City Hall. Unlike businesses that have to protect processes that may be trade secrets, government (well other than military) benefits from others understanding and assisting them improve their workflow. So comon down, pretty much the only thing you can't see here are social security numbers and addresses of people that work here.
Ever notice farmers don't complain about the smell? That's because they live in it.
Responses to other comments:
Price alone *will* make a contract. Ever notice how your streets and sidewalks don't look as nice as they used to? Lowest bid does not require pride in your work.
Politicians don't give a damn about free software. They are likely affluent company heads or managers of corporations that use Microsoft. What are they going to suggest for cities? If anything, it is going to be what they know; status quo for businesses.
The absolute worst thing you can do is send a quick blurb to your local politician without detailed follow-up information. One citizen was upset that we built our own machines at an OEM level. "Fire them and buy Dells- it would save money." They didn't understand I consider building PCs training and we can turn out 20 machines in a week without interrupting normal processing. Nor did they realize self upgrades were cheaper because we were not required to buy Windows license again, whereas Dell forces you to buy at least Windows Home edition.
With the arguments you've presented here today, you are hurting OpenSource, not helping it. If a real IT manager comes into that organization now with real evidence about OpenSource, they will have an additional hurdle of "What that free stuff? Nah we tried that, people didn't like it." to deal with before they can implement it.
Either stand up or sit down, don't half-ass it like you're doing.
I commend you on trying to think out of the box, and seeking the help of your peers, but unfortunately the industry has once again sold a dream without providing tools to deliver it, and we all end up looking bad.
It was you who failed to do your job. You're telling me you could convince your end users but not your manager? If your manager was so closed minded, how did they allow you to start the project in the first place? Then you turn and say the manager was told by the users that they wanted the other office. You focus on the word "Real" but not the important fact: either they didn't like it or you let them off the hook without giving you a real reason.
You said "Users are not happy about making a change." What change? If OpenOffice is so great, there really isn't a change.
It sounds to me like you are your own worst enemy. If your manager is so clueless, and so are your end users then implement the software without explaining a difference. Don't approach it like there is a conflict, and there generally is not going to be one. You might find out there actually is something Open Office can't do - they need.
If that's the case, become an Open Source contributor and add it.
If senior management is as ignorant as you're making them out to be, I have a hard time believing they pay attention to what you're ordering - unless you told them about it before hand. If you did, you must have been worried about it. If you were worried about it, they noticed. That's why they are management and you are not.
That's what management does. They make sure people don't go and do crazy things. IS installing Open Office is crazy? Only if you don't know enough about it to keep your users happy, and set management's mind at ease. In your case: yes.
If your test group liked OpenOffice so much, why not load it anyway? Surely management understands they can migrate their office licenses to other machines. If they respect the end-users opinion so much, they would have to listen to employees demanding OpenOffice.
Employees could state they learned and used OpenOffice to demonstrate a potential cost savings in their next evaluation. So if the employees are passing up this opportunity - you've got to wonder what is worth more than saying they saved money in their eval. It would have to be a fairly big inconvenience to pass up that incentive.
Why would you expect the whole organization to turn instantly to OpenOffice, once you demonstrated it can open a few files? Isn't one migration to OpenOffice better than none?
Reluctance is based on something they see as a real need and you consider irrelevant. Guess who is right? They are. They do the work. Your job is to help them not criticize them. Their opinion will always be more valued than yours. Don't like it? Find another industry.
You're whole "us vs them", "old vs young", "Microsoft vs OpenSource" attitude is sinking your objectivity.
Again, I commend you for thinking outside the Microsoft box, now try thinking outside both the Microsoft box and the open source box.
and don't assume a 8 hour day. assume 12 or 16 hour day, pray that it wasn't closer to a 24 hour day. And he had the easy job!
...65$ is a little bit more than I got(not adjusted for inflation) ...and accumulated over a summer that's a lot compared to the average job round these parts.
I worked at PACSTC some years before he did (iirc I as staff one year he was there as a cadet >:D )
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