2023-04-17 15:54:12 +00:00
|
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
|
date: 2012-12-17T00:00:00-05:00
|
|
|
|
|
title: "Misunderstanding the Free Software Philosophy"
|
2023-04-18 16:16:48 +00:00
|
|
|
tags: [en_us, english, fedora-planet, rant, free-software]
|
2023-04-17 15:54:12 +00:00
|
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
This will probably be one of those controversial posts, but I really
|
|
|
|
|
cannot just be silent about a behaviour that I am constantly seeing
|
|
|
|
|
around me.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Since my childhood, I am fascinated by the power of the words. I always
|
|
|
|
|
liked reading a lot, and despite not knowing the grammar rules (either
|
|
|
|
|
in pt\_BR or en\_US, the former being my native language, the latter
|
|
|
|
|
being the only idiom I can consider myself fluent in), I am deeply
|
|
|
|
|
interested in what words (and their infinite meanings) can do to us. (If
|
|
|
|
|
you can read in portuguese, and if you also like to study or admire in
|
|
|
|
|
this subject, I strongly recommend a romance by José Saramago called "*O
|
|
|
|
|
Homem Duplicado*"). So now, what I am seeing everywhere is that people
|
|
|
|
|
are being as careless as ever with words, their meanings, and specially
|
|
|
|
|
their implications.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The problem I am seeing, and it is a serious problem in my opinion, is
|
|
|
|
|
the constant use of the term "**free software**" when "**open source**"
|
|
|
|
|
should be used. This is obviously not a recent problem, and I really
|
|
|
|
|
cannot recall when was the first time I noticed this happening. But
|
|
|
|
|
maybe because I am much more involved with (real) free software
|
|
|
|
|
movements now, I have the strong impression that this "confusion" is
|
|
|
|
|
starting to grow out of control. So here I am, trying to convince some
|
|
|
|
|
people to be a little more coherent.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
When you create a group to talk about free software, or when you join a
|
|
|
|
|
group whose goal is to promote free software ideas, you should really
|
|
|
|
|
**do that**. First of all, you should understand [what free software is
|
|
|
|
|
about](http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html). It is **not about**
|
|
|
|
|
open source, for starters. It is also a political movement, not only a
|
|
|
|
|
technical one.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I was part of a group in my former university which had "Free Software"
|
|
|
|
|
in its name. For a long time, I believed the group really was about free
|
|
|
|
|
software, even after receiving e-mails with heavy negative critics about
|
|
|
|
|
my opinions when I defended something related to the free software
|
|
|
|
|
ideology (e.g., when I suggested that we should not have a Facebook
|
|
|
|
|
page, which had been created for the group by one of its members). Well,
|
|
|
|
|
when I really could not hide the truth from myself anymore, I packed my
|
|
|
|
|
things and left the group (this was actually the start of a new free
|
|
|
|
|
software group that I founded with other friends in Brazil).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I also like a lot to go to events. And not only because of the
|
|
|
|
|
presentations, but mostly because I really like to talk to people.
|
|
|
|
|
Brazilians are fortunately very warm and talkative, so events here are
|
|
|
|
|
really a fertile soil for my social skills :-). However, even when the
|
|
|
|
|
event has "free software" in its name and description, it is **very**
|
|
|
|
|
hard to find someone who really understands the philosophy behind the
|
|
|
|
|
term. And I'm not just talking about the attendees: the event staff is
|
|
|
|
|
also usually ignorant (and prefer to remain like this)! I feel really
|
|
|
|
|
depressed when I start to defend the (real) free software, and people
|
|
|
|
|
start looking at me and saying "You're radical.". It's like going in a
|
|
|
|
|
"Debugger Conference" and feel ridicularized when you start talking
|
|
|
|
|
about GDB! I cannot understand this...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
But the worst part of all this is that newcomers are learning that "free
|
|
|
|
|
software" is "Linux", or something which is **not** free software. This
|
|
|
|
|
is definitely not a good thing, because people should be aware that the
|
|
|
|
|
world is not just about software development: there are serious issues,
|
|
|
|
|
including privacy and freedom menaces by Facebook/Google/Apple/etc,
|
|
|
|
|
which we should fight against. Free software is about that as well.
|
|
|
|
|
Awareness should be raised, actions should be taken, and people should
|
|
|
|
|
refuse those impositions.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
So, to finish what I want to say, if you do not consider yourself a free
|
|
|
|
|
software activist, please consider becoming one. And if, after giving it
|
|
|
|
|
a thought, you decided that you really do not want to be a free software
|
|
|
|
|
activist, then **do not use the name "free software" in your
|
|
|
|
|
event/group/whatever**, unless you really intend to talk about it and
|
|
|
|
|
not open source.. In other words, if you don't want to help, please
|
|
|
|
|
don't spread confusion.
|
