Hi people,
in the last months the fellowship group in Vienna was working on a leaflet which shall be used as an introduction into Free Software for people who didn't think about it so far at all.
We feel that our old leaflets are great for people to learn more about specific subjects, but are (sometimes) too heavy for complete newbies to the subject of Free Software.
Therefore we wanted to use an easy to grasp comparison explaining what freedom in the sense of Free Software really means and present it in a friendly accessible layout. We came up with tools.
The text basically tells what consequences it would have if tools would be as restricted as proprietary software and that there is no good reason to accept such absurd conditions.
Attached you can find the version of the leaflet our team in Vienna has agreed on. If you are happy with it and if the content gets approved from our European team as well we could share our SVG-files and do translations to get those folders for all local groups who want them. Since we didn't use any pre-fabricated material everything is free for improvements and adaptations. (I even checked with the FSF if we are allowed to use the book cover "Free Software Free Society" for this purpose on our leaflets.)
We worked on a black and white version for easy printing as well, but didn't get to a final draft there yet. (In my opinion a black and white version is very handy if you need more leaflets fast, but of course the coloured version is much more tempting for most people.) It has a different text and layout. Therefore it wouldn't look strange to have both leaflets at once on one booth. I'll send you our black and white draft as well as soon as we have developed it to a final version...
Best, Franz
Hi everybody,
---edit: This is quite a long mail. scroll down to the last paragraph for a short summary of this awfully long text---
I like the idea of this leaflet and the design is appealing. When I read the eight awkward restrictions a screwdriver would have if it was proprietary software I thought about a joke I once read. It's about Bill Gates insulting the automobile industry and how slowly they develop cars. He points out how cheap efficient and clean cars would be if they had developed as quickly as computers. Head of GeneralMotors replied that if cars would have actually developed like computers have, they would do many stupid things. Like asking "Do you really want the airbag to open", or obligating the driver to by additional seats (or a license fee for additional passengers) and so on.
From a personwhoknowsitswayaroundcomputers's point of view I was really
amused about this quarrel. And it made me think about how I promote free software and how a non-nerd person experiences software and the usage of computers.
Whenever I try to explain the limitations of proprietary software to somebody who barely knows how to write an email I only get weird looks and shrugs. People have no clue. These people by a preinstalled Windows PC and just go with it and completely accept the fact that there is no other operating system. They in fact believe that there is no such thing as an operating system. They believe there is just a computer and all the software is sort of built in and inseparably connected to the hard drive. And this of course is the same with all computers on the wide world.
Well it's kinda hard for me to explain how they think about it. But they give me the looks like (and that's a German proverb) a martin during a thunderstorm.
I would love to see the reaction of such people to this leaflet. Because I think that they would not start to care about free software. They are just so used to the ways they have been handling computers and they think they are satisfied. "Would I need such freedoms? My computer works just fine without them" they would say. I hope I'm wrong.
I sometimes get depressed when I try to promote something I really like. But people are just like "Nah; I'd rather use the live messenger for my video chat. I'm just so used to it and I know how it works. And I'm quite content with the computer as it is. Facebook runs just fine."
I'm sorry about all this personal gibberish. To sum it up: I would like to field test this leaflet especially with some hard cases and see how they react. And I'm hoping that I find a way to promote free software so that people start to care.
Best wishes,
Phil
Franz Gratzer wrote:
Hi people,
in the last months the fellowship group in Vienna was working on a leaflet which shall be used as an introduction into Free Software for people who didn't think about it so far at all.
We feel that our old leaflets are great for people to learn more about specific subjects, but are (sometimes) too heavy for complete newbies to the subject of Free Software.
Therefore we wanted to use an easy to grasp comparison explaining what freedom in the sense of Free Software really means and present it in a friendly accessible layout. We came up with tools.
The text basically tells what consequences it would have if tools would be as restricted as proprietary software and that there is no good reason to accept such absurd conditions.
Attached you can find the version of the leaflet our team in Vienna has agreed on. If you are happy with it and if the content gets approved from our European team as well we could share our SVG-files and do translations to get those folders for all local groups who want them. Since we didn't use any pre-fabricated material everything is free for improvements and adaptations. (I even checked with the FSF if we are allowed to use the book cover "Free Software Free Society" for this purpose on our leaflets.)
We worked on a black and white version for easy printing as well, but didn't get to a final draft there yet. (In my opinion a black and white version is very handy if you need more leaflets fast, but of course the coloured version is much more tempting for most people.) It has a different text and layout. Therefore it wouldn't look strange to have both leaflets at once on one booth. I'll send you our black and white draft as well as soon as we have developed it to a final version...
Best, Franz
Designers mailing list Designers@fsfeurope.org https://mail.fsfeurope.org/mailman/listinfo/designers
Hi Phil,
thank you for your thoughts.
I don't expect, that this single leaflet can change the habits of people who don't care. It's only purpose is to explain what Free Software means in an hopefully very accessible way. (I was intrigued by this car-comparison as well. Nevertheless I didn't want to use it because I don't believe that cars are the best comparison - partly because of the fact that nowadays they are using a lot of proprietary parts and software with exactly the restrictions we are talking about.)
During the work on this leaflet we tested several versions on different people without prior knowledge. So this leaflet is no suggestion out of the blue and had quite good feedbacks, but I wouldn't claim, that it can overcome lazy ignorance. Even if we spent months in developing this version it's for sure no mystical key to the hearts of people.
In my opinion the only way to catch people who are lazy and do not care about freedom is a service with easy support which makes free software to the most convenient option. No political truth would move them, but if it's less effort, they would use free software instead of proprietary programs...
Best Franz
On Sun, 2011-12-18 at 15:53 +0100, Philipp Kammerer wrote:
Hi everybody,
---edit: This is quite a long mail. scroll down to the last paragraph for a short summary of this awfully long text---
I like the idea of this leaflet and the design is appealing. When I read the eight awkward restrictions a screwdriver would have if it was proprietary software I thought about a joke I once read. It's about Bill Gates insulting the automobile industry and how slowly they develop cars. He points out how cheap efficient and clean cars would be if they had developed as quickly as computers. Head of GeneralMotors replied that if cars would have actually developed like computers have, they would do many stupid things. Like asking "Do you really want the airbag to open", or obligating the driver to by additional seats (or a license fee for additional passengers) and so on.
From a personwhoknowsitswayaroundcomputers's point of view I was really
amused about this quarrel. And it made me think about how I promote free software and how a non-nerd person experiences software and the usage of computers.
Whenever I try to explain the limitations of proprietary software to somebody who barely knows how to write an email I only get weird looks and shrugs. People have no clue. These people by a preinstalled Windows PC and just go with it and completely accept the fact that there is no other operating system. They in fact believe that there is no such thing as an operating system. They believe there is just a computer and all the software is sort of built in and inseparably connected to the hard drive. And this of course is the same with all computers on the wide world.
Well it's kinda hard for me to explain how they think about it. But they give me the looks like (and that's a German proverb) a martin during a thunderstorm.
I would love to see the reaction of such people to this leaflet. Because I think that they would not start to care about free software. They are just so used to the ways they have been handling computers and they think they are satisfied. "Would I need such freedoms? My computer works just fine without them" they would say. I hope I'm wrong.
I sometimes get depressed when I try to promote something I really like. But people are just like "Nah; I'd rather use the live messenger for my video chat. I'm just so used to it and I know how it works. And I'm quite content with the computer as it is. Facebook runs just fine."
I'm sorry about all this personal gibberish. To sum it up: I would like to field test this leaflet especially with some hard cases and see how they react. And I'm hoping that I find a way to promote free software so that people start to care.
Best wishes,
Phil
Franz Gratzer wrote:
Hi people,
in the last months the fellowship group in Vienna was working on a leaflet which shall be used as an introduction into Free Software for people who didn't think about it so far at all.
We feel that our old leaflets are great for people to learn more about specific subjects, but are (sometimes) too heavy for complete newbies to the subject of Free Software.
Therefore we wanted to use an easy to grasp comparison explaining what freedom in the sense of Free Software really means and present it in a friendly accessible layout. We came up with tools.
The text basically tells what consequences it would have if tools would be as restricted as proprietary software and that there is no good reason to accept such absurd conditions.
Attached you can find the version of the leaflet our team in Vienna has agreed on. If you are happy with it and if the content gets approved from our European team as well we could share our SVG-files and do translations to get those folders for all local groups who want them. Since we didn't use any pre-fabricated material everything is free for improvements and adaptations. (I even checked with the FSF if we are allowed to use the book cover "Free Software Free Society" for this purpose on our leaflets.)
We worked on a black and white version for easy printing as well, but didn't get to a final draft there yet. (In my opinion a black and white version is very handy if you need more leaflets fast, but of course the coloured version is much more tempting for most people.) It has a different text and layout. Therefore it wouldn't look strange to have both leaflets at once on one booth. I'll send you our black and white draft as well as soon as we have developed it to a final version...
Best, Franz
Designers mailing list Designers@fsfeurope.org https://mail.fsfeurope.org/mailman/listinfo/designers
Designers mailing list Designers@fsfeurope.org https://mail.fsfeurope.org/mailman/listinfo/designers
On Saturday 17 December 2011 15:00:13 Franz Gratzer wrote:
in the last months the fellowship group in Vienna was working on a leaflet which shall be used as an introduction into Free Software for people who didn't think about it so far at all.
The design work looks great - you've clearly got some talented people in your Fellowship group.
I'm looking forward to an English translation at some point in future :)
Sam.
Hi Franz,
* Franz Gratzer franz.gratzer@fsfe.org [2011-12-17 16:00:13 +0100]:
in the last months the fellowship group in Vienna was working on a leaflet which shall be used as an introduction into Free Software for people who didn't think about it so far at all.
This is a very nice design! It might be a good idea to get some more feedback on the text instead of the design. E.g. on fsfe-de@fsfeurope.org or on germany@ and austria@.
One thing I already would recommend: The four freedoms should start with 1 and not 0. Else it is irritating for non techis. Beside that I had very good experiences to mention four names, in English "use, study, share, improve" and in German the 4 Vfreiheiten ;) "Verwenden, Verstehen, Verbreiten, Verbessern". If you mention that some times, people are able to remember the four freedoms much better afterwards.
That's why I suggest to use those four words in this part. Either by:
*Verwenden*: Explain... *Verstehen*: Explain... *Verbreiten*: Explain... *Verbessern*: Explain...
Or by having it in the text but somehow highlighted (other color, bold, etc.).
Thanks a lot for your work! Matthias
Hi Matthias,
Wolfgang from our local Fellowship group promised me he will send an e-mail to the German team with our draft to ask for feedback on the text. It looks like I was faster with the request for feedback from the designers. ;)
Thank you for your suggestions. The short keywords for the four freedoms are a very good idea indeed. I'm not so sure about the numbers because at least Stallman explains the four freedoms always starting with zero. Therefore I thought it's the best to keep the established counting style - even if I had to answer questions about it in my free software workshops already...
Best Franz
On Thu, 2011-12-22 at 15:26 +0100, Matthias Kirschner wrote:
Hi Franz,
- Franz Gratzer franz.gratzer@fsfe.org [2011-12-17 16:00:13 +0100]:
in the last months the fellowship group in Vienna was working on a leaflet which shall be used as an introduction into Free Software for people who didn't think about it so far at all.
This is a very nice design! It might be a good idea to get some more feedback on the text instead of the design. E.g. on fsfe-de@fsfeurope.org or on germany@ and austria@.
One thing I already would recommend: The four freedoms should start with 1 and not 0. Else it is irritating for non techis. Beside that I had very good experiences to mention four names, in English "use, study, share, improve" and in German the 4 Vfreiheiten ;) "Verwenden, Verstehen, Verbreiten, Verbessern". If you mention that some times, people are able to remember the four freedoms much better afterwards.
That's why I suggest to use those four words in this part. Either by:
*Verwenden*: Explain... *Verstehen*: Explain... *Verbreiten*: Explain... *Verbessern*: Explain...
Or by having it in the text but somehow highlighted (other color, bold, etc.).
Thanks a lot for your work! Matthias
Hi Franz,
* Franz Gratzer franz.gratzer@fsfe.org [2011-12-22 18:44:08 +0100]:
Thank you for your suggestions. The short keywords for the four freedoms are a very good idea indeed. I'm not so sure about the numbers because at least Stallman explains the four freedoms always starting with zero. Therefore I thought it's the best to keep the established counting style
- even if I had to answer questions about it in my free software
workshops already...
I decided some years ago, that I will count from 1 on. It was too difficult for non-programmers to get this. I do not want to confuse them with something like this. In FSFE most people talk about freedom 1,2,3, and 4.
Regards, Matthias
Hi,
I incorporated Matthias suggestions.
This is the most recent version of the folder. If there aren't any further comments I understand this as an "ok" from the designer's list:
http://www.tierrechtskongress.at/2011/image/ffi-de.png http://www.tierrechtskongress.at/2011/image/ffa-de.png
Best Franz
On Thu, 2011-12-22 at 18:52 +0100, Matthias Kirschner wrote:
Hi Franz,
- Franz Gratzer franz.gratzer@fsfe.org [2011-12-22 18:44:08 +0100]:
Thank you for your suggestions. The short keywords for the four freedoms are a very good idea indeed. I'm not so sure about the numbers because at least Stallman explains the four freedoms always starting with zero. Therefore I thought it's the best to keep the established counting style
- even if I had to answer questions about it in my free software
workshops already...
I decided some years ago, that I will count from 1 on. It was too difficult for non-programmers to get this. I do not want to confuse them with something like this. In FSFE most people talk about freedom 1,2,3, and 4.
Regards, Matthias
Hi Franz,
I just have one addition:
it's actually openstreetmap.org (not openstreetmaps.org) It doesn't really matter since there is a redirect… but just for the sake of being correct.
I quite like it and can't wait to pass it on to people.
Best wishes,
Phil
Franz Gratzer wrote:
Hi,
I incorporated Matthias suggestions.
This is the most recent version of the folder. If there aren't any further comments I understand this as an "ok" from the designer's list:
http://www.tierrechtskongress.at/2011/image/ffi-de.png http://www.tierrechtskongress.at/2011/image/ffa-de.png
Best Franz
Hi,
I incorporated Matthias suggestions.
This is the most recent version of the folder. If there aren't any further comments I understand this as an "ok" from the designer's list:
http://www.tierrechtskongress.at/2011/image/ffi-de.png http://www.tierrechtskongress.at/2011/image/ffa-de.png
Best Franz
On Thu, 2011-12-22 at 18:44 +0100, Franz Gratzer wrote:
Hi Matthias,
Wolfgang from our local Fellowship group promised me he will send an e-mail to the German team with our draft to ask for feedback on the text. It looks like I was faster with the request for feedback from the designers. ;)
Thank you for your suggestions. The short keywords for the four freedoms are a very good idea indeed. I'm not so sure about the numbers because at least Stallman explains the four freedoms always starting with zero. Therefore I thought it's the best to keep the established counting style
- even if I had to answer questions about it in my free software
workshops already...
Best Franz
On Thu, 2011-12-22 at 15:26 +0100, Matthias Kirschner wrote:
Hi Franz,
- Franz Gratzer franz.gratzer@fsfe.org [2011-12-17 16:00:13 +0100]:
in the last months the fellowship group in Vienna was working on a leaflet which shall be used as an introduction into Free Software for people who didn't think about it so far at all.
This is a very nice design! It might be a good idea to get some more feedback on the text instead of the design. E.g. on fsfe-de@fsfeurope.org or on germany@ and austria@.
One thing I already would recommend: The four freedoms should start with 1 and not 0. Else it is irritating for non techis. Beside that I had very good experiences to mention four names, in English "use, study, share, improve" and in German the 4 Vfreiheiten ;) "Verwenden, Verstehen, Verbreiten, Verbessern". If you mention that some times, people are able to remember the four freedoms much better afterwards.
That's why I suggest to use those four words in this part. Either by:
*Verwenden*: Explain... *Verstehen*: Explain... *Verbreiten*: Explain... *Verbessern*: Explain...
Or by having it in the text but somehow highlighted (other color, bold, etc.).
Thanks a lot for your work! Matthias
* Onsemeliot onsemeliot@riseup.net [2012-01-02 23:13:31 +0100]:
This is the most recent version of the folder. If there aren't any further comments I understand this as an "ok" from the designer's list:
http://www.tierrechtskongress.at/2011/image/ffi-de.png http://www.tierrechtskongress.at/2011/image/ffa-de.png
Maybe we should change "Profitgier" into "Profitmaximierung" in the headline, too. "Profitgier" reminds me too much on the German BILD newspaper.
Regards, Matthias
