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2006 - The Year the FSF Reached Out

Posted by Zonk on from the hugs-from-a-penguin dept.

nanday writes "Linux.com is running a story about how the Free Software Foundation has transformed itself into an activist organization in the past year. From the story: 'At the start of 2006, the Free Software Foundation (FSF) was largely inward-looking, focused on the GNU Project and high-level strategic concerns such as licensing. Now, without abandoning these issues, the FSF had transformed into an openly activist organization, reaching out to its supporters and encouraging their participation in civic campaigns often designed to enlist non-hackers in their causes. Yet what happened seems to bemuse even FSF employees.'" Linux.com and Slashdot are both owned by OSTG.

14 of 114 comments (clear)

  1. Transformation by jesboat · · Score: 3, Interesting

    It is an interesting transformation, and one that took people by storm. I can't help but wonder if this doesn't introduce a conflict of interest between the anti-DRM stuff and supporting GNU in the future.

    1. Re:Transformation by Frosty+Piss · · Score: 4, Insightful
      It is an interesting transformation, and one that took people by storm.

      Are you on drugs? The FSF took people by storm? What people would these be? The choir?

      --
      If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
  2. It's about time... by jaymzter · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I've often wondered why the FSF hasn't reached out to the mainstream community before. The ideas and restrictions behind Treacherous Computing, DRM, and the Copyright Raiders should be enough to raise the hackles of any conservatives and libertarians out there. Until mainstream activists realized the dangers pointed out by RMS this will remain an uphill battle.

    As an aside, if the common public are pirates, maybe we should refer to the **AAs as Vikings or Raiders or something. Successively stealing our rights and enforcing their business models..

    --
    If thou see a fair woman pay court to her, for thus thou wilt obtain love
    1. Re:It's about time... by daviddennis · · Score: 4, Insightful

      ... because most people don't understand what the FSF cares about, and it's likely they never will.

      For most people, you shove a DVD into a DVD player and if it works, that's all they need.

      Most of the people who do care are on Slashdot, and so it's easy to think of it as a huge bunch of folks, but I'd say about 1% of the population uses file sharing networks and maybe 2% of the population actually sees the problems with DRM. Now, that's a huge number of people, and a large percentage of the number of people interested in owning music or movies, so it's important to both producers and consumers of entertainment. But it's never going to be the dominant issue for more than a tiny handful of people.

      It's not enough to swing an election, so with politicla issues the RIAA has a huge advantage, and from what I can see, they use it ruthlessly.

      I think the FSF did a very nice job with BadVista.org . The site's very well done. But I think they will mainly be preaching to the choir.

      D

    2. Re:It's about time... by Karzz1 · · Score: 3, Informative

      What you don't get, apparently, is that this concern doesn't rank very high on the average person's radar compared to other stuff, like _crime_, _taxes_, and other such issues. It's like the "Save the *small rare bird* Foundation" - there's a bunch of folks who care, but they're absolutely dwarfed by those who don't.

      That is quite a jump you just made there. I realize fully that there are more pressing matters in the eyes of most people (myself included). However, unlike the "Save the *small rare bird* Foundation" you mention, these are rights that people will miss once they have been stripped away. Other than a select few, almost no one will miss the birds (yes it is a tragedy, but really, how does it affect the average persons life?).

      The problem, as I see it, is that the large media companies have intentionally convoluted and obfuscated the issues so that the average person no longer understands what is really at stake - hence my use of the term "complacency". It is far easier to pretend that nothing is happening than to educate oneself on the issues at hand. Are these issues as important as many other issues, such as taxes or crime as you mentioned? Probably not in most peoples eyes. However that does not mean that we should simply ignore these issues simply because there are other more pressing matters to deal with first. This is where I applaud the FSF. They are raising awareness of these issues.

      "Why should your cause be at the top of the list, or anywhere in the vicinity?"

      I don't believe I suggested that this take precedence over all other issues or that it is "my cause"; I merely implied that it is an issue worthy of consideration.

      --
      Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master.
    3. Re:It's about time... by TheRaven64 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Most of the people who do care are on Slashdot, and so it's easy to think of it as a huge bunch of folks, but I'd say about 1% of the population uses file sharing networks I think you'd be way off here. Take a look at the people the RIAA is suing; how many of them post on Slashdot, do you think? In my experience, it tends to be my non-geek friends who are more aware of which filesharing network is the place to get which kind of content. Using most of them doesn't require any technical knowledge, just a broadband connection. Mostly, it spreads because someone says 'hey, I found this way to get free songs' and installs it on all of their friends computers. They may have no understanding of the technology, or the legality, but they are still using the systems.
      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
    4. Re:It's about time... by Paradise+Pete · · Score: 3, Informative
      I think the FSF did a very nice job with BadVista.org

      I'm not so sure. The first thing that happens is that you get redirected - so right away a curious but casual visitor thinks that either he's done something wrong or the site's not yet ready. Then, when (and if) he figures out that this weird .fsf.org is the right place, he's swamped with too much text that all looks the same. There's no single part that catches his eye and says "read me first, this is the idea. Then maybe if you like that then look at the rest of this stuff." Instead he says "I'm not reading all this crap. I'll come back when they're organized." and closes the window.

      It needs to be much, much simpler. Then once the basic ideas are conveyed the more complex parts can be explored. The casual reader will not be motivated until he's drawn in. You can't just throw a big pile of stuff at him and say "Here's all the info you need. Just wade through it all and figure it out."

    5. Re:It's about time... by jbn-o · · Score: 3, Interesting

      It's only "likely they never will" if those educated about software freedom believe they cannot talk to everyday computer users and therefore never try. I've done this work in person, on the radio, and online and I've learned that people are receptive to learning about social solidarity, ethics, and preserving freedom. In fact, it takes an inordinate amount of effort on the part of proprietors to convince people not to pay attention to issues of social solidarity in software including DRM, proprietary software, and patents. People don't take kindly to being restricted them doing something they want their computer to do. What proprietors do is constant education as well; people won't naturally separate themselves from one another and keep each other from working together. Proprietors know that people have to be taught to behave this way and endorse this mode of behavior in their everyday lives. You won't get where you want to go, politically, by giving up.

      I encourage everyone to help teach others about software freedom and reject notions that others won't understand you. It's incredibly rewarding to connect with people on a level where you share and work together.

      --
      Digital Citizen
  3. Re:like me by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny
    For those like me who have heard of the Free Software Foundation, but are not sure who or what they are:


    God, has Slashdot really fallen this far?
  4. Re:like me by WilliamSChips · · Score: 4, Funny

    For those like me who have heard of the Wikipedia, but are not sure who or what they are: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia

    --
    Please, for the good of Humanity, vote Obama.
  5. I wonder by Brandybuck · · Score: 3, Interesting

    If they weren't an activist organization until this year, what the heck were they the previous twenty four years?

    --
    Don't blame me, I didn't vote for either of them!
    1. Re:I wonder by bfields · · Score: 5, Insightful
      If they weren't an activist organization until this year, what the heck were they the previous twenty four years?

      I think they were concentrated much more on supporting free software development directly.

      That's less of a priority now, I suppose (for the happy reason that lots of other people are spending money on development), so they're concentrating more on politics--something the various companies funding developers may not be able to do.

  6. Re:Thank you FSF by grcumb · · Score: 4, Informative

    You guys have helped spread the dream of free access, open source and non-proprietary software to the everyday consumer. No, they haven't. Very few people have moved to open source systems...

    You've got a typo there. Let me fix it for you:

    "Very few people are aware that they have moved to open source systems, such as the Internet and its services, all of which are, philosophically if not literally, part of the Free world that Richard Stallman envisioned lo, these many years ago."

    ...and very few have any desire to, or even knowledge of what they are.

    The first won't happen without the second. The FSF has done a bang-up job educating developers and other geeks, to the extent that the de facto choice these days for developers is between Microsoft and GNU GPL systems and applications. There are other options, but these two dominate.

    Now the FSF seem to believe that, the first battle being won, they've got to reach out to the general public - or should that be GNU/General Public - and continue the fight there. Given your points about general awareness, I think the decision is a wise one. Way to go, FSF!

    --
    Crumb's Corollary: Never bring a knife to a bun fight.
  7. Re:like me by Paradise+Pete · · Score: 3, Informative
    This is Slashdot. As in "News for Nerds who Know What the Free Software Foundation Is." Next you'll be revealing to the world the identity of those perenially mysterious acronyms, GNU, RMS and GPL.

    It's not people are born knowing these things. The guy has a seven digit id. He's new to the site, and took the time to educate himself, and figured he might not be the only one who didn't know. And you give him shit for that.