Hello.
I reject your hypothesis that a persons political beliefs can be
broadly predicted using some basic knowledge of Open Source and Free Software principles and established social and political theory.
Okay, but it's not my hypothesis. I have simply combined ideas readily available in any social science or philosophy of political science journal. I have justified my points and am happy to provide evidence should you require it that broadly speaking, Open Source is 'pro-business' and Free Software tends to be positioned towards more civic roles.
I find this claim so absurd that I have a hard time arguing against it.
Okay. I didn't ask you to argue against it though, arguing against my posts isn't compulsory.
Political beliefs are a multidimensional bundle based on a complex
value system.
Yes, but the way they are often articulated is as heuristic that goes from left (socialist) through a center (liberal) to right (libertarian).
This is not something I have invented, it's a fairly established model that can be useful in thinking about imperatives, intentions, and ideas.
I am raising this point because I fear that simply stating this claim
in public may seriously damage the reputation of FSFE.
Reiterating an established narrative based in accepted political parlance does no such thing in my view.
Please refrain from doing so
Unless, you can come up with a specific grievance against what I have said that links my posts to the views of the FSFE or is damaging it's reputation or you believe it causes yourself or the FSFE harm, then I politely refuse your request.
:-)
Mat
Hello Bruno :-)
you must acknowledge that the 98% does not really know what this is
about, dont' you think?
Well, I am not sure if I mean to ignore it Bruno. It's just that there has been some push back in other areas too which I believe are also important issues to discuss openly. I think what I would say is that if the 2% are not clear about the important differences between the two things, which includes the lexemes, the ideas, the concepts, the methodologies, the cultures and the outcomes, as two distinct packages if you like, then the chances of influencing the 98% discussion in my view look more remote, not as some may see it perhaps, as more likely.
The correct intervention here I think is education, and not acquiescing to the demands of business managers that want to have all the benefits of (say) a vibrant development community but do not feel obliged to uphold users freedom. I say this because to me this is an exemplary case of difference between Open Source and Free Software development.
To do that, we simply have to talk about free software, if it fits the criteria, and open source if it fits different criteria, and NOT mix the two things up.
It serves neither the 2% nor the 98% to talk in ways that are confusing and incapable of supporting the fundamental differences between the two things, in much a similar way that you would expect that if I say to you I work in a coffee shop, you could reliably relay that information to your friends accurately. It does no one any good if I say I work in a coffee shop if I actually work in a factory, because transmitting unreliable information I think generally in information science isn't the way we get useful things done, is it?