Innovation is the point of software freedom: Without innovation, there
would come time when there would be no need for new software, no need
for software developers to be able to alter the code.
On 17 May 2012 12:45, Ciarán O'Riordan <ciaran(a)member.fsf.org> wrote:
>
> I can't do any more on this. Exams coming up.
>
> Whichever intro is used, it should explain how swpats are bad for:
>
> 1. Free software - important for users
> 2. Software freedom - important for developers
>
> 1. Free software is harmed because swpats give an advantage to companies
> with money and lawyers. This category is the least likely to
> spontaneously give freedom to users of their software. Spontaneous
> offers of freedom (and pressure on large companies to also give
> freedom) comes from individuals, academics, hobbyists, and (to a
> lesser extent) SMEs. Anything that helps big companies and harms
> small developers, will reduce the amount of free software in the
> world.
>
> 2. Software freedom is damaged because it becomes illegal to develop or
> distribute certain types of programs.
>
> For FSFE both are important, but users might only see the value of #1,
> and developers might only see the value of #2, so both should be
> explained.
>
> The harms of software patents can also be explained with two other
> categories: 1. They add financial and legal risks to *all* software
> development. 2. They specifically block the development of useful
> software because (a) they block standards and (b) when a software
> package gains a lot of users, *then* it becomes a target for either
> patent trolls wanting money or big software companies wanting to kill
> competition.
>
>
> I think it's also important to ignore innovation. FSFE has no mandate
> to promote innovation. If some reliable studies proved that swpats help
> innovation, or if politicians were convinced that this was true, then
> FSFE saying "Promoting innovation is important" wouldn't be helpful. We
> can leave that work to researchers. FSFE's role is to say "They also
> hurt free software and software freedom, and these are important!".
>
> Some people will see freedom as a tradeable value. (Do I want more
> freedom if it will ruin the economy?) To reassure those people, a
> *minor* mention of not hurting innovation/SMEs/economy/other-stuff is
> worthwhile.
>
> Last comments:
>
> * Avoid words like "oligopolistic" - not everyone knows what exactly
> they are and how they affect software freedom / free software
>
> * Words like "market" are difficult to use right. The software *market*
> is just an incidental aspect of what FSFE cares about.
>
> Hope that helps. This groundhog is now going into hibernation...
> --
> Ciarán O'Riordan
> +32 (0) 485 118 029
> _______________________________________________
> Discussion mailing list
> Discussion(a)fsfeurope.org
> https://mail.fsfeurope.org/mailman/listinfo/discussion
--
Heiki "Repentinus" Ojasild
FSFE Fellow (en) / FSFE ühinglane (et)
<repentinus(a)fsfe.org>
<https://wiki.fsfe.org/Fellows/repentinus>
<http://blogs.fsfe.org/repentinus/>
--
Heiki "Repentinus" Ojasild
FSFE Fellow (en) / FSFE ühinglane (et)
<repentinus(a)fsfe.org>
<https://wiki.fsfe.org/Fellows/repentinus>
<http://blogs.fsfe.org/repentinus/>
Hi All,
Probably too late to put out an email to everyone who might be interested.
Glynn Moody has another good article up regarding the upcoming ACTA
proposals. The European Parliament Committee for Legal Affairs (JURI)
looks likely to submit a positive recommendation for ACTA.
The vote is tomorrow.
Glynn has listed a series of MEPs on the committee along with email
addresses and is recommending people pass on their views - he's also
shown a copy of what he has sent.
If anyone has the time and inclination, the article and further
details here: http://blogs.computerworlduk.com/open-enterprise/2012/04/acta-update-xiv/in…
Glynn is the same person who recently brought the Open Standards
Consultation to my attention a week or so ago.
Thanks
Craig
--
Craig Errington (ce)
Free Software Foundation (fellow)
Mail: ce(a)fsfe.org
Jabber: ce(a)jabber.fsfe.org
FSFE is holding its annual General Assembly in Lisbon this year, and we
would meet the local Free Software community! Please join us on Saturday
April 28th at for a relaxed evening of drinks and conversation.
We will meet at 21:30 at Lisbon metro station Estação Baixa Chiado, exit
Largo do Chiado. From there, we'll move to Galeria Zé dos Bois around
22:00.
Further details and a map are available at the website of our associate
organisation ANSOL: https://ansol.org/fsfega2012meetup
We are looking forward to see you there!
Matthias
PS: You do not live in Lisboa, but want to meet as many FSFE people as
possible in one place? Propose were to held the next GA, help us with
finding a good location and we'll meet :) (Yes, some people might argue,
you can also visit FOSDEM ;) ).
--
Matthias Kirschner - FSFE - Fellowship Coordinator, German Coordinator
FSFE, Linienstr. 141, 10115 Berlin, t +49-30-27595290 +49-1577-1780003
Free Software is important to you? Join today! (fsfe.org/join)
Weblog (blogs.fsfe.org/mk) - Contact (fsfe.org/about/kirschner)
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
Hi all,
FSFE's monthly fellowship interview with Bernd Wurst is online:
http://blogs.fsfe.org/fellowship-interviews/?p=573
Bern Wurst is a Free Software professional, volunteering for the
Freedroidz project. He describes us his engagement with Free Software,
and its importance for education.
Thank you,
- --
Alessandro Polvani [ ] <alessandro.polvani(a)fsfe.org>
Free Software Foundation Europe [ ][ ][ ] [http://fsfe.org]
Assistant to the President | | +49-30-27595290
Your donation powers our work! [http://fsfe.org/donate/]
Free Software Foundation Europe e.V. is a German Verein registered
at the Registergericht Hamburg (VR 17030).
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.4.12 (GNU/Linux)
Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org/
iJwEAQECAAYFAk+WaZMACgkQey/ZAxEJx3+WJQQAh0ehkMHOE7fJK4Z3jltria8g
8okE9i2gqtn0U+6GhsOc/LVYtu5E3OOcs+7ttEeTNlFVly3U2dEim0P5ht8bXm0H
PPfW3bppIH+d0vD5IMYtaS1E/cXl/OJjKcw0x77A2ei8pnqkTlwYmxXetMAvpnq6
/rjvSqA8P3WblnZ8e1U=
=Ul3s
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
Hi all!
I would like to notify you that we will have a booth at LinuxTag in
Berlin from May 23 to 26.
It would be great to meet as many of you as possible. We are also
looking for booth volunteers.
It is a four-day event, so we are organising shifts. Your assistance
would help us a lot, even if just for a couple of hours of half a day.
Please refer to me for any question.
Looking forward to meeting you in Berlin!
Alessandro
- --
Alessandro Polvani [ ] <alessandro.polvani(a)fsfe.org>
Free Software Foundation Europe [ ][ ][ ] [http://fsfe.org]
Assistant to the President | | +49-30-27595290
Your donation powers our work! [http://fsfe.org/donate/]
Free Software Foundation Europe e.V. is a German Verein registered
at the Registergericht Hamburg (VR 17030).
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.4.12 (GNU/Linux)
Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org/
iJwEAQECAAYFAk+OslIACgkQey/ZAxEJx3/L1wP/YkEj/u5UdbWcrfky78SUT7ER
92/rfXvbQUA9BQ6blTPjpSwkRI0pNhB3WoO5x9n8KiLexFGucabh/kA64HI0HqpE
OFmxNlvx7rVUCv7Ty/QJwPp9aku/taVFhRQxBVWMhNC6AzJJOER78fAowoslgZrF
20jQ2k8okx9BrVh00Tc=
=GEAQ
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
Dear discussants,
As you may or may not be aware, we are planning to overhaul the
pdfreaders.org website. As part of the future changes, we are planning
to replace the current table with platform-specific reader
recommendations. Thus, it would be beneficial if you listed the pros
and cons of the free readers you actively use and the criteria we
should consider when evaluating the readers. The reason behind this
request is very simple: Today I had a rather interesting talk with the
leader of Estonian Pirate Party, and we happened to discuss free PDF
readers, and our use cases were just so dramatically different – I use
PDFs for reading only, but for him good annotation system was a must –
that I decided to ask as diverse audience as possible for input.
Thus, could you please tell us why a certain free reader is better
than the alternatives or elaborate on your daily use? Please tell us
what we should consider when we are going to make the final choice on
recommendations.
Thanks.
Some ideas:
-> Existence of a browser plug-in (the idea is from Hannes, I think)
-> Annotation system
Faithfully yours,
--
Heiki "Repentinus" Ojasild
FSFE Fellow (en) / FSFE ühinglane (et)
<repentinus(a)fsfe.org>
<https://wiki.fsfe.org/Fellows/repentinus>
<http://blogs.fsfe.org/repentinus/>
P.S. There is no need to cc the pdfreaders' mailing list: I am going
to compile all the information, and I will share it with the team when
the discussion on this list is going to draw to a close.
P.P.S. If anyone wants to work on the PDFreaders overhaul (work, not
discuss things), let us know, and we can take you aboard.
What happened on Document Freedom Day 2012? What was it all about? Where did
it happen?
See the final report complete with pictures and statistics:
http://documentfreedom.org/news/2012/news-20120403-01.en.html
Sam.
--
Sam Tuke
British Team Coordinator
Free Software Foundation Europe
IM : samtuke(a)jabber.fsfe.org
Latest UK Free Software news: uk.fsfe.org
Is freedom important to you? Join the fellowship.fsfe.org
Next weekend (20-22) is FSFE's 2012 Web Sprint, this year in Manchester, UK.
Come along and learn about web technologies and contribute to FSFE's websites.
It'll be fun, it'll be social, and it'll help to spread Free Software more
effectively online.
Schedule, travel info, and contact details:
http://wiki.fsfe.org/WebSprint2012
Contact me for free accommodation, and for grants to cover travel contact web
team coordinator Nicolas Jean <nicoulas(a)fsfe.org>.
This is a great opportunity to meet some like-minded Free Software advocates
without having to travel far. Feel free to drop in for a short time if you
can't make the whole thing.
See you there!
Sam.
--
Sam Tuke
British Team Coordinator
Free Software Foundation Europe
IM : samtuke(a)jabber.fsfe.org
Latest UK Free Software news: uk.fsfe.org
Is freedom important to you? Join the fellowship.fsfe.org
PDFreaders.org poster available
In cooperation with the fsfe a poster for the PDFreaders.org campaign
came to life. The campaign is about removing ads for proprietary
pdfreaders from government websites.
When you arrange an event which is connected to Free Software you may
order or print a poster yourself after consultation with the fsfe.
-----
PDFreaders.org Poster verfügbar
In Zusammenarbeit mit der fsfe ist ein Poster für die PDFreaders.org
Kampagne entstanden. In der Kampagne geht es darum, Werbung für
proprietäre PDF-Betrachter von Webseiten der öffentlichen Verwaltung zu
entfernen.
Wer eine Aktion, die mit Freier Software zu tun hat, durchführt, kann
nach Absprache mit der fsfe ein Poster für seine Öffentlichkeitsarbeit
beziehen oder die Datei zum selber ausdrucken erhalten.