3 ms·

A shocking number of developers I know who use FOSS have no idea that there is even some kind of philosophy behind free software, relating to politics and ethic

A shocking number of developers I know who use FOSS have no idea that there is even some kind of philosophy behind free software, relating to politics and ethics. Basically zero idea about licenses outside generic FUD about the viral nature of the GPL etc. The ethical-philosophical free software people are terrible at marketing and getting their message across. It's still just a small niche subculture despite the wide adoption of GNU tools and licenses. You'll never reach further with all the silly in joke stuff like Chief GNUisance etc. You'd need charismatic frontline personalities (there's a wide spectrum to explore between RMS and sleazy snake oil salesmen), who don't immediately put off the general population.

temac 6y ago
Worse, some believe Free Software is worthless if third party companies can not extract money from it in some ways, without any compensation or even just keeping it Free in practice for the users. And I'm OK that some Free Software actually let do that, but the thought that those who don't are somehow bad or a threat to the general concept of "freedom" is... weird. (Like there is a single perfectly defined concensus on the concept of freedom anyway)
Mediterraneo10 6y ago
It feels rather contradictory that people on fora like this are all in favor for being tolerant of neurodiversity – let’s not judge those on the autistic spectrum for lack of social graces because they were born that way – but at the same time there is a lot of disapproval of RMS. If we aim to create a better world, should that not be a world where a figure like RMS would seem perfectly fine, not a weirdo who has to be represented by more "acceptable" figures?
- eeZah7Ux 6y ago
  > It feels rather contradictory You are confusing respecting people differences (e.g. neurodiversity, ethnicity, religion, nationality, orientation and so on) with accepting any behavior with choosing the right person for a given role. This are 3 different things.

temac 6y ago

Worse, some believe Free Software is worthless if third party companies can not extract money from it in some ways, without any compensation or even just keeping it Free in practice for the users. And I'm OK that some Free Software actually let do that, but the thought that those who don't are somehow bad or a threat to the general concept of "freedom" is... weird. (Like there is a single perfectly defined concensus on the concept of freedom anyway)

Mediterraneo10 6y ago

It feels rather contradictory that people on fora like this are all in favor for being tolerant of neurodiversity – let’s not judge those on the autistic spectrum for lack of social graces because they were born that way – but at the same time there is a lot of disapproval of RMS. If we aim to create a better world, should that not be a world where a figure like RMS would seem perfectly fine, not a weirdo who has to be represented by more "acceptable" figures?

eeZah7Ux 6y ago
> It feels rather contradictory You are confusing respecting people differences (e.g. neurodiversity, ethnicity, religion, nationality, orientation and so on) with accepting any behavior with choosing the right person for a given role. This are 3 different things.