On Wednesday 16 August 2006 14:49, Duncan wrote: > You ever seen the term "slaveryware"? You have now.
[This preface is directed at everyone who might respond to this, not just Duncan. I strive to be logical about this, and as un-inflammatory as possible. If you are going to respond, please make the same effort; I'm ok with being the latest person to start a discussion; I'm not ok with being the latest person to start a flamewar. So, with that said...] I told a friend that there were some in the community who called proprietary software slaveryware. His response? "Holy shit!" If that term spreads, we can forget about convincing otherwise logical people that free software is the Right Way. There are two problems with it: 1) It's incorrect. There is nothing at this point in time that causes you to be enslaved by proprietary software. There are stories of speculative fiction, such as "Right to Read" and other, better written stories; those stories are just that- fiction. Microsoft does not beat you or chain you to their operating system. Sun does not whip you to use java. Members of the wider computer community may, through their own adoption, but Sun has nothing to do with it. You must convince members of your community to stay away from proprietary software. This leads me to the second error. 2) It's intentionally offensive. The end goal of the free software movement, as I understand it, is to convince everyone that freedom in software is something to strive for. Some people do not immediately see the light of this, and must be convinced through logical means. Convincing people to see the benefits of free software is difficult enough. Stealing a cliche- can you imagine explaining to your mother about slaveryware? If you use that term, you then have to convince people that that term is accurate. The discussion will be about the slaveryware /word/ instead of the free software /idea/. That is counterproductive, and will likely cause you to be dismissed as a extremist (though, hopefully not by your mother). Intentionally offending the very people we need to convince does not help us at all. So please, for the good of the community, stop using it. Don't stop with the message, just cease using a term that would crystallize people against us if it spread. Thanks.
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