I saw this a couple days ago on the free-sklyarov mailing list, but I haven't seen it posted here yet: The Standard interviewed Rep. Rick Boucher about his plans for a DMCA reform bill (in addition to other things like digital music). "Boucher isn't sure when he'll introduce the new proposed legislation... though he thinks it will most likely will be in the fall. Still, he doesn't rule out moving faster. 'It could come as soon as this month. It could come later this week,' he says."
If there has ever been a good time to send a letter/make a call/make a visit to your congressman/woman / senator about the DMCA, this is probably it. I'm sure Boucher would be more than delighted to put the bill on the floor if he had our undivided support for it.
There was a a blip about the SF protest yesterday on the major evening news programs in the SF bay area. I think the CBS coverage on the 6:00 news was actually pretty decent; they did a couple interviews, it was more than just a blip in the tech section, and more often than not they painted Dmitry and the protesters in a positive light (e.g., I noticed they used the term programmer instead of hacker; the anchor also ended with the rhetorical question (not direct quote, but to the effect), "So if what he did wasn't illegal in Russia, you mean if he hadn't stepped on US soil he would have never gotten in trouble?".
Wasn't at the top of the hour, but I think the SF protesters can still be pretty proud of that. (wish I was there, stupid network outage at 10:30:P)
Why focus on the distinctions between open-source and free software? Allchin didn't address the distinction at all; to him, as to others, they are one and the same. Only RMS would insist on dredging up the same tired argument and same tired distinctions on such a matter.
Aren't those distinctions important to the FSF? That "to Allchin as to others, they are one and the same" is all the more reason to continue pointing out the differences so that the "public" can distinguish the groups rather than lumping them all together. We don't stop harping about stereotypes when we are talking about people just because "they are all the same" to most people anyway.
I could leave it at that, but RMS is so condescending it makes me retch:
"I have no opinion 'intellectual property rights,' and if you are thoughtful you will have none either."
Just because he's against them doesn't mean he has to presume that we'd agree with that position. And to frame our disagreement in the language of thoughtfulness/thoughtlessness insults the hours of philosophical and moral debate we have invested in arriving at our own conclusions, be they contrary to his or not.
Though I guess you can infer that from previous remarks, I think the more important point he was trying to make in this article was that there are many different types of IP, and to put a label on them all (copyright, trade mark, patents, etc.) in an indescriminant fashion, whether as 'good' or 'bad' or something we should worry about protecting, would be wrong. I.E., he was pointing out that that Allchin was just spouting over simplified marketing talk.
RMS has done some good deeds in his tenure as free-software partisan extraordinaire, but enough is enough. I've said it before and I'll say it again: he lacks both the tact and the skill to be an effective discussant of the issues he preaches about. He is going toe-to-toe with marketers and executives. His is a different world entirely.How many more years until we just give up on him?
Why do we keep listening to RMS?
Well, I for one am glad that there are at least some hardliners on "our side" of the camp to offset those on the other side. You might argue that firebrands like RMS scare people away. I think American poltics disproves that -- people will keep there distance, sure, but in the end, he is still shifting the middle closer to our end of the field.
And at 4:10 AM EST, a Florida recount (!) began, and CNN retracted its predicted Bush victory.
Personally, I think the Michigan Senate race right now is a bit more interesting (and important, considering the numbers), but this is definitely a strange development...
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If there has ever been a good time to send a letter/make a call/make a visit to your congressman/woman / senator about the DMCA, this is probably it. I'm sure Boucher would be more than delighted to put the bill on the floor if he had our undivided support for it.
Wasn't at the top of the hour, but I think the SF protesters can still be pretty proud of that. (wish I was there, stupid network outage at 10:30 :P)
Why focus on the distinctions between open-source and free software? Allchin didn't address the distinction at all; to him, as to others, they are one and the same. Only RMS would insist on dredging up the same tired argument and same tired distinctions on such a matter.
Aren't those distinctions important to the FSF? That "to Allchin as to others, they are one and the same" is all the more reason to continue pointing out the differences so that the "public" can distinguish the groups rather than lumping them all together. We don't stop harping about stereotypes when we are talking about people just because "they are all the same" to most people anyway.
I could leave it at that, but RMS is so condescending it makes me retch:
"I have no opinion 'intellectual property rights,' and if you are thoughtful you will have none either."
Just because he's against them doesn't mean he has to presume that we'd agree with that position. And to frame our disagreement in the language of thoughtfulness/thoughtlessness insults the hours of philosophical and moral debate we have invested in arriving at our own conclusions, be they contrary to his or not.
Though I guess you can infer that from previous remarks, I think the more important point he was trying to make in this article was that there are many different types of IP, and to put a label on them all (copyright, trade mark, patents, etc.) in an indescriminant fashion, whether as 'good' or 'bad' or something we should worry about protecting, would be wrong. I.E., he was pointing out that that Allchin was just spouting over simplified marketing talk.
RMS has done some good deeds in his tenure as free-software partisan extraordinaire, but enough is enough. I've said it before and I'll say it again: he lacks both the tact and the skill to be an effective discussant of the issues he preaches about. He is going toe-to-toe with marketers and executives. His is a different world entirely. How many more years until we just give up on him?
Why do we keep listening to RMS?
Well, I for one am glad that there are at least some hardliners on "our side" of the camp to offset those on the other side. You might argue that firebrands like RMS scare people away. I think American poltics disproves that -- people will keep there distance, sure, but in the end, he is still shifting the middle closer to our end of the field.
And at 4:10 AM EST, a Florida recount (!) began, and CNN retracted its predicted Bush victory.
Personally, I think the Michigan Senate race right now is a bit more interesting (and important, considering the numbers), but this is definitely a strange development...