Re:Is the FSF Fighting the Previous War?
by bruce511 on Saturday October 08, 2022 @01:20AM
(#33129971)
True. Open source software is waaay bigger than Free software. And free software delivered by the FSF is a drop in the bucket of all software-available-in-source-code-format.
This is not a bad thing, nor a reflection that the FSF is doing it wrong. Indeed it is a sign they are doing it right.
Ultimately all open software exists _because_ of the FSF. They set the marker in the ground, they set the standard the rest if us don't quite live up to. Their role is not to produce all the code, their role is to explain the freedoms well enough so that enough other people believe in some, or all, of those freedoms.
The two main threads of the article are hardware, and emacs.
Depending on how far down the stack you want to go (open microcode in your CPU?) it's generally possible to get hardware open enough for you to do anything you like. Not all hardware is open, sure, but there are enough choices.
Yes there are still closed drivers (ironic given what kicked RMS off in the first place) but careful choices play a role here.
That said, keeping an eye in the hardware, and keeping open hardware in our minds, is an excellent reason for the FSF to exist. Their job is not to win the war, its to make us care about the war at all. We will win it, if we care about it.
Emacs is a very specific example of a program run by a person who has beliefs. He builds that program to conform to those beliefs, not the beliefs of his user base.
In this case he's the printer maker not wanting his printer to work on the new hardware. His goal is not to make "the world's best editor" - his goal us to "make the world's best editor that promotes free software ideals."
Ironically, if you don't like that, you can take his work and built on it however _you_ like. He not only represents the original problem, he presents the ongoing solution.
The Freedoms are explicit. They don't give the user rights over the developer. They give the user rights to add their own work to the equation. Emphasis on work.
The FSF is not fighting the wrong war. They are not fighting at all. They are setting a marker in the ground saying "this is what could be." Our job is to notice, and care.
This is not a bad thing, nor a reflection that the FSF is doing it wrong. Indeed it is a sign they are doing it right.
Ultimately all open software exists _because_ of the FSF. They set the marker in the ground, they set the standard the rest if us don't quite live up to. Their role is not to produce all the code, their role is to explain the freedoms well enough so that enough other people believe in some, or all, of those freedoms.
The two main threads of the article are hardware, and emacs.
Depending on how far down the stack you want to go (open microcode in your CPU?) it's generally possible to get hardware open enough for you to do anything you like. Not all hardware is open, sure, but there are enough choices.
Yes there are still closed drivers (ironic given what kicked RMS off in the first place) but careful choices play a role here.
That said, keeping an eye in the hardware, and keeping open hardware in our minds, is an excellent reason for the FSF to exist. Their job is not to win the war, its to make us care about the war at all. We will win it, if we care about it.
Emacs is a very specific example of a program run by a person who has beliefs. He builds that program to conform to those beliefs, not the beliefs of his user base.
In this case he's the printer maker not wanting his printer to work on the new hardware. His goal is not to make "the world's best editor" - his goal us to "make the world's best editor that promotes free software ideals."
Ironically, if you don't like that, you can take his work and built on it however _you_ like. He not only represents the original problem, he presents the ongoing solution.
The Freedoms are explicit. They don't give the user rights over the developer. They give the user rights to add their own work to the equation. Emphasis on work.
The FSF is not fighting the wrong war. They are not fighting at all. They are setting a marker in the ground saying "this is what could be." Our job is to notice, and care.