Re: Is free software political?
* Jonathan Carter <jcc@debian.org> [2019-03-21 21:23]:
> 1. Do you think that free software is inherently political? Do you think
> there's place for politics in free software?
Maybe you define "politics" in a different way to me (and maybe I mix
it up with what would better be describes as "philosophy"), but the
whole idea behind software freedom is a certain ideology and world
view that I see as part of "politics".
> 2. The same as #1, but for Debian instead of free software.
If my answer to the first question makes sense, then the same applies
to Debian. Our social contract mentions software freedom and the
project cares about this.
The third question, which you didn't ask, is about the FOSS world in
general. I see a change there. While some people are involved
because of software freedom, an increasing number care more about the
collaborative development method. (The Linux Foundation, for example,
is good on emphasizing that without necesarily talking about software
freedom.)
If I misunderstood your question: should we actively get involved in
politics (e.g. lobby)? To some extent, yes, both in the larger world
and certainly in the FOSS world (see my platform).
Are there behind the scene politics in FOSS? Absolutely.
I hope I've covered all uses of the word "politics". ;-)
--
Martin Michlmayr
https://www.cyrius.com/
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