You realize I didn’t write that article, yes? Maybe give it a read in-full first, and then consider its main point: effective base building and movement organizing is difficult given the tendencies in FSF and LibrePlanet and elsewhere that are more inclined to favor their own small in-groups (clubs) over possible newcomers out there..
On Wed, Feb 23, 2022 at 6:25 PM <faifl...@danwin1210.de> wrote: > > I appreciate what the last email says about delegating, but can’t wholly > agree with the assertion that the failure is on the part of followers- > it specifically falls on FSF not the broader base. > > While that might be true as an abstraction, I'm not sure the abstraction > applies meaningfully to the FSF. > > The FSF has been, effectively, taken over. While it's true that the FSF's > job was to prevent this, Stallman's followers are the only people left who > can do anything about it. The FSF cannot without them. > > If the goal is (was) to restore the FSF, it was first the FSF and then the > followers that failed. They seem to care more about credit than goals. > That's why they've abandoned goals and retained credit. > > AND THEY DESERVE CREDIT! For everything they did. If only prestige could > fix anything that's happened since the coup, but it can't. > > > > This excerpt from “A Club is Not a Movement” > (https://news.techworkerscoalition.org/2021/10/26/issue-22/) might be > instructive: > > I'll have to read that. Considering that I advocate joining unions as an > alternative to trying to bolster dying 501(c)3 orgs, because unions are > often capable of doing more (only in some instances, but some pretty > important ones) that may be a very good read. > > > > We don’t talk enough about why free software is great. We say, “Well, > it’s not proprietary!” But what’s really great about free software is > that it asks questions like, What if you wanted to have a screen reader > that could seamlessly go back and forth between the browser and the > command line?" > > This is true. I also consider it a slippery slope, but not if it doesn't > "take over" everything else that needs to be done. If cheerleaders can do > everything, why not hand them the ball and tell them to join the team? > Cheerleading can only help so much. As long as the game still matters and > is still played well, cheerleaders are absolutely okay to have. > > Open Source puts a LOT of stress on this, since it's really just > marketing. That's the concern- but it's not a GIVEN that the superficial > takes over, only a potential threat. > > > > > Would a proprietary browser ask that? No, but a free software > alternative absolutely would. And that comes from bringing in people who > don’t *only* care about free software. > > I was hoping Free Culture and Free Hardware would be of more assistance > here. > > The FSF has misrepresented free culture for years, and I cancelled my > membership over it. It does to free culture more or less what Open Source > does to the FSF. That isn't fair. > > Free culture of course, has not been fair either. But at least it has some > good reasons to be pissed off. > > Free Hardware is absolutely necessary, at some point. Otherwise all the > problems of non-free software will very simply move to silicon, and then > what? Then the whole movement is done. > > Of course it's not that stupid, it will evolve for the same reason > anything else evolves. But it's annoying to see the FSF drag its feet > about this and do the FSF-on-Free-Culture dance all over again. > > I actually think this has gotten slightly better. > > > > So, despite outright opposition within the office, we formed the women’s > caucus to help grow LibrePlanet — both the conference and the movement. > > Ah yes, LiePlanet-- with no ethics, no truth and Zinovievian tactics > against everyone. > > Stalin did not set out to create Stalinism. He started with mistakes like > the ones made by your nasty little trojan horse coup. > > > > Overtly and repeatedly saying “everyone is welcome” worked. > > Lies often do work for a time. It's clearly not true though. Your > DISCRIMINATION against the neurodiverse is appalling and hypocritical. > > Fortunately it is also self-destructive. It may take years, but you're > cutting the floor out from underneath yourselves. > > > > > The number of women who presented went up and up and held at about a > third of the participants. We worked to include diverse people beyond > the usual suspects: people from around the world, often from > Spanish-speaking > countries, and people with kids. > > And that's not a bad thing. It really depends on how you do it. If > LiePlanet were honest, I think this tactic you're describing would be > sustainable. > > > > We also saw a lot of new GNU projects that focused on growth, and we > asked users what they wanted to see, how they wanted the software to > work. That led to software not just for ourselves but for people like > painters and artists. Most of those maintainers have been chased off, > but for a while it was really good. It was great to see free software > projects modeling how to talk with users. How do you get them using your > software, not because it’s cheap or the right thing to do, but because > it works? > > Sounds great. > > > > > Some people in free software feel like, “We have a super fun secret club > and it’d be nice if it were a little bit bigger.” > > I doubt that's an honest characterisation of Free Software. Adrianne > certainly would not say so. I am openly sceptical. > > It sounds more like ultra-left rhetoric to me. Being left-leaning myself, > the problem is that the ultra-left (not a new term at all, more than 100 > years old) will always side with the corporations seeking to limit user > freedom. > > They'll throw out the hospitals on behalf of the patients, because the > patients are more important-- just watch. Everyone is so surprised when it > happens, but it follows a predictable pattern. > > > > > Other people are trying to build a movement. > > And the first step was to attack it with lies. > > Not just any old lies of course, but the same lies that Open Source has > attacked Free Software with for decades. Funny, that. And OSI literally > planned to do this. And Microsoft literally planned to do this. > > You're being used, but not everyone in the world is such a sucker. > > You (collectively) are also engaged in trademark fraud, but I'm sure that > will go in your favour. It's more of a side point than anything. > > > > > > > Building a movement requires constant checks on gatekeeping, which is a > muscle and a mindset you need to build because it’s not intuitive. > > Right... > > > > If you look at corporate software events, it’s easy to see how they grow. > > Yes, just read anything by Edward Bernays and it will be very clear. > > > > Sure, they don’t run out of water or coffee by 11am and their hotel > rooms are nicer, but what many do really well is proactively bring in > students, women, and people of color by having a solid code of conduct, > being super positive – and not acting as gatekeepers. > > As if acting as gatekeepers is not exactly what they are doing. > > > > > We might not be able to afford endless espresso and sushi, but it > doesn’t cost anything to be nice. > > No, all it takes is a smile and a lie. > > > > > Like in other nerdy pursuits, the norms and behaviors you set up are > what matter. In a club, it’s not obvious that it’s better to listen to > newcomers rather than make fun of them or say “Ugh [sigh], I’ll just do > it for you.” > > So you've purged the elitists? This is brilliant. Is Linus unwelcome now? > > I think people should stand up to elitists of course. Circle jerks are a > misfortune. But honesty is still a virtue (except with the ultra-left, > where honesty is the first casualty). > > > > > If you want people to behave in a certain way, you need to model it in > your own event, project, or nonprofit organization. > > Yes, I've seen your loyalty oaths. Very chic. And the anti-whistleblower > policy is clever, but not very. > > > _______________________________________________ > Discussion mailing list > Discussion@lists.fsfellowship.eu > https://lists.fsfellowship.eu/mailman/listinfo/discussion >
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