RMS,
I am a PhD student in computing and I have run up against an interesting problem. I consider FOSS to be at the core of my personal philosophy. To me it is not just a pragmatic issue, but an ethical one. Therefore, in my research, I use all FOSS software.
Now, the problem arises when trying to justify my use of FOSS to colleagues and supervisors. I have tried to make the case that it is an ethical issue, and have argued the merits of freedom and academia, however, I invariably am told "that's not an academic argument".
This is incredibly frustrating and annoying to me as, in academic research, we are constantly being restricted by "research ethics" (e.g. the ethical treatment of subjects, plagiarism, etc.) and I am more than willing to bet that if a researcher objected to a methodology based on "religious principles" they would be excused. But my "open source ethics" dilemma doesn't seem to apply.
Any advice?
Thanks!
tsquar3d
Slashdot Mirror
RMS, I am a PhD student in computing and I have run up against an interesting problem. I consider FOSS to be at the core of my personal philosophy. To me it is not just a pragmatic issue, but an ethical one. Therefore, in my research, I use all FOSS software. Now, the problem arises when trying to justify my use of FOSS to colleagues and supervisors. I have tried to make the case that it is an ethical issue, and have argued the merits of freedom and academia, however, I invariably am told "that's not an academic argument". This is incredibly frustrating and annoying to me as, in academic research, we are constantly being restricted by "research ethics" (e.g. the ethical treatment of subjects, plagiarism, etc.) and I am more than willing to bet that if a researcher objected to a methodology based on "religious principles" they would be excused. But my "open source ethics" dilemma doesn't seem to apply. Any advice? Thanks! tsquar3d