FLOSS, FSF and Richard M Stallman

[Vargha Poralli]

What is the anarchists view/stance of the whole FSF and its founder Richard stallman and his philosophical views on software developement ?


He is branded as a communist by properiarty s/w companies like M$ because his advocacy is very much threatening to thier model of business.

One analysis brand him as an anarchist more specifically Software Anarchist (http://www.softpanorama.org/Copyright/License_classification/social_roots_of_GPL.shtml).obviously he refutes that he is a communist bcos of the possible bad publicity and said nothing about anarchy as far as i know.

also the philosophy behind GNU Project here (http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/)

I do not know much about anarchism so i ask other comrade's opinion.

also what is the stance of software developement on the revolutionary left ?
is gnu-gpl/bsd style's of licensing are enough ? which one you think suits our revolutionary outlook . wat more can/should be done ?

also on DMCA,Software patents,DRM which restricts users wat they can/cannot do with their computers !! also about the so called intellectual property rights ?

P.S : If this is not relevant forum pls move it to a relevant one !

[apathy maybe]

I am an anarchist, and I think that Free Software, and the ideals of free software are great.

While I understand the simple BSD licences (without the advertising clause), I personally don't like how people are not required to share their changes back again.

I like the GPL, but think that it is a little complex, really all I want is something that says,

You can take this code (or whatever) and do what you will with it, on the conditions that
* you let others have it and any changes you make to it
* you don't add any other legal restrictions (such as patents)
* you don't add any technical restrictions (such as DRM or encryption unless the keys are also shared)

Plus a no warranty clause.


See also this thread I made in 2004 http://www.revolutionaryleft.com/index.php...l=free+software (http://www.revolutionaryleft.com/index.php?showtopic=25528&hl=free+software)

[Rodack]

Originally posted by apathy [email protected] 04, 2006 12:15 am
I am an anarchist, and I think that Free Software, and the ideals of free software are great.

While I understand the simple BSD licences (without the advertising clause), I personally don't like how people are not required to share their changes back again.

I like the GPL, but think that it is a little complex, really all I want is something that says,

You can take this code (or whatever) and do what you will with it, on the conditions that
* you let others have it and any changes you make to it
* you don't add any other legal restrictions (such as patents)
* you don't add any technical restrictions (such as DRM or encryption unless the keys are also shared)

Plus a no warranty clause.


See also this thread I made in 2004 http://www.revolutionaryleft.com/index.php...l=free+software (http://www.revolutionaryleft.com/index.php?showtopic=25528&hl=free+software)
What kind of free software have you provided, Comrade?

[apathy maybe]

I'm actually not a programmer at all. I do a little bit, but most of it is just kids stuff that I haven't actually released. I'm doing a bit of web dev stuff now, but it is easier to simply use other peoples code (such as MediaWiki). I use GNU/Linux, GNOME, OpenOffice.org and all the rest of it on my computer however.

[Rodack]

Originally posted by apathy [email protected] 04, 2006 10:06 pm
I'm actually not a programmer at all. I do a little bit, but most of it is just kids stuff that I haven't actually released. I'm doing a bit of web dev stuff now, but it is easier to simply use other peoples code (such as MediaWiki). I use GNU/Linux, GNOME, OpenOffice.org and all the rest of it on my computer however.
What kind of free software will you provide, Comrade?

[Janus]

I definitely support free software as the wave of the future. Sooner or later, I think that open source is going to push out Microsoft and the other compaines which are so concerned with "intellectual property".

[JRR883]

I've used FLOSS almost exclusively for about a year and a half. In fact, I think it was the concept of free software that opened my eyes to anarchism/communism.

As for the complexity of the GPL, it's like that to prevent proprietary companies from exploiting the free nature of the software. If it was simpler, the corporate lawyers could easily find a loophole and potentially destroy free software.

[Vargha Poralli]

Thanx for the replies !!! :D so many of us have same opinion ;)

[JRR883]

What distro and software do you use, comrades? I'm running Fedora Core 6 with Gnome, and I use Firefox, Gaim, Amarok, Limewire, Audacity, and MPlayer most often. When I have to boot into Windows for something, I generally curse my computer multiple times :-P

[Vargha Poralli]

Originally posted by [email protected] 08, 2006 03:39 am
What distro and software do you use, comrades? I'm running Fedora Core 6 with Gnome, and I use Firefox, Gaim, Amarok, Limewire, Audacity, and MPlayer most often. When I have to boot into Windows for something, I generally curse my computer multiple times :-P
I use 2 linux distros both fedorac5 and redhat el4. :wub:

Unfortunately i also wixp(pirated :P ) just for connecting to internet . bacos the stupid modem vendors and manufacyurers donot supply me drivers for linux. :angry:

any how veen i iuse firefox for browsing

In linux i mostly for my job related works i use OOo . its really superb since it flawlessly compatible with M$office which i am forced to use in the office. In linux for doing programs i use both vi and emacs for editing purposes and linux comes with GCC for compilations. for playing music in use xampp in linux and winamp in windows. in case of filesharing azureus for torrents and shareza for ed2k and gnutella 1 & 2. :D

[JRR883]

Originally posted by g.ram+November 08, 2006 08:08 am--> (g.ram @ November 08, 2006 08:08 am)
[email protected] 08, 2006 03:39 am
What distro and software do you use, comrades? I'm running Fedora Core 6 with Gnome, and I use Firefox, Gaim, Amarok, Limewire, Audacity, and MPlayer most often. When I have to boot into Windows for something, I generally curse my computer multiple times :-P
I use 2 linux distros both fedorac5 and redhat el4. :wub:

Unfortunately i also wixp(pirated :P ) just for connecting to internet . bacos the stupid modem vendors and manufacyurers donot supply me drivers for linux. :angry:

any how veen i iuse firefox for browsing

In linux i mostly for my job related works i use OOo . its really superb since it flawlessly compatible with M$office which i am forced to use in the office. In linux for doing programs i use both vi and emacs for editing purposes and linux comes with GCC for compilations. for playing music in use xampp in linux and winamp in windows. in case of filesharing azureus for torrents and shareza for ed2k and gnutella 1 & 2. :D [/b]
You can get a hardware-only modem to connect to the internet in Linux. Winmodems are evillllll.

[red team]

Free software means more than just liberating scientific knowledge from private ownership and privilege. It also has to do with the whole culture of society regarding work and the reason for it. Think about this for a minute. A lot of people in this world subscribe to the philosophy of work in itself being some sort of metaphysical sacred thing because for the bulk of human history until recent time work needs to repeated everyday in an endless fashion.

Further, perfection in detail is prized leading to elitism among those who can perform endlessly in perfect detail like a machine even though the abstract ideas underpinning the practical work that needs to be performed isn't all that difficult to understand. With free open-source software people can analyze what goes on in abstract detail for any kind of procedural work then let the machinery perform the actual work to perfection every single time.

Contrast this the social-darwinist approach now in education and in the "job market" in general in which the mechanics of problem solving is exclusively prized so we essentially get "smart" computers in positions of power and wealth which leads to social-darwinists being hired in state institutions of learning to turn out the next batch of elitists.

With the development of computers and free software, the potential for the masses to use technology to compete in an even footing with the social-darwinist elites is there as well as overturning the whole protestant work ethic (what I call ignorant peasant ethic) culture of work where work as endless drudgery as a necessary part of life is prized and regarded as "noble".