Re: [ox-en] Germ of a new form of society or germ of a new form of business?
- From: "Benj. Mako Hill" <mako debian.org>
- Date: Wed, 4 Feb 2004 01:55:48 -0800
On Wed, Feb 04, 2004 at 06:14:55AM [PHONE NUMBER REMOVED], Martin Hardie wrote:
This point of Niall's deserves further discussion. The source is
useless if you haven't got the skills to use it. The result is that
the free in FLOSS in this respect is free only to a technical elite.
I agree completely. It's clearly a major problem and one that's close
to my heart.
Unchecked, Free Software will recreate, and reinforce, old systems of
inequality and injustice. Along with access to source code must come
the ability to manipulate it. Advocacy of software with certain
freedoms without advocacy for a program to give users the ability to
take advantage of those freedom, or easily learn how to do this, is
useless.
Mako poo pooed this idea some months ago
I don't recall that the the context of the conversation was exactly as
you described or I can't imagine imagine I would have poo-poo'ed
it. Unless there was a misunderstanding or communication error of
course. Links to the archive would be welcome.
from someone without the skills (and I have more han your average
computer user) the technical elite exists and the only way to gain
entry or gain the knowledge is by having someone show you/Train you.
Ah. Was this the conversation about how free software is poorly
documented, etc? I still think the documentation is pretty good. It
could, and will, get better, and the software can, and will, get more
user friendly. Maybe I don't understand what you want or think should
change.
You have to be inducted tot he elite to be able to take advantage of
the "free" attched to the source code.
I think there is a important difference between learning the skills
necessary to use it and being "inducted into the elite." Free software
exists in a world of inequality and will reflect and reinforce
those unless developers are aware and proactive -- and to some degree
even when they are.
However, saying, "this software isn't going to be of much use to you
until you read a manual or get someone to walk you through it the
first time" hardly seems like induction into some elite club. It's
sounds a whole lot like how people learn any new thing actually.
Regards,
Mako
--
Benjamin Mako Hill
mako debian.org
http://mako.yukidoke.org/