You've probably heard about the FSF's new campaign called "Windows7sins". I strongly oppose this way of "PROmoting" Floss. If like me, you think Floss should be promoted in a positive way, put below banner on your blog/website/..., tell your colleagues/friends/... about it and comment on my blog or send me a mail. We should show the world the Floss community is a positive community and I'll write a follow-up post with the results.
EDIT: I don't want to make this an anti-FSF campaign or start a flamewar. The FSF's message imho should not be "we're anti-windows", but "we're pro-floss", that's what the banner is about.
Alternatives to a race to the bottom
Hmmm. You're attacking good folks for attacking convicted monopolists. Attacking windows may be a bad strategy, but why join a race to the bottom? (And why am I joining in also? Bloody human nature....)
So what should we should do? The windows 7 and snow leopard release is a good time to educate folks. Do any of you see something you like that points out the biggest issues with the upgrades and makes the case for free software and open standards?
I'd also note the encouraging developments in the ever-more-important mobile space like Android.
Thanks Martijn. Being a
Thanks Martijn. Being a opensource developer myself, I support your point of view and I agree.
I support windows7sins
It is not a attack. It is a awareness campaign. Even if you are a programmer and you think you can code at home and feel happy by sharing it using GPL/other licence and call yourself and FOSS promoter then it is wrong. World is always been a fight between Good and Evil. You cannot just feel happy by doing Good. It is our first duty to stop Evil by direct fighting and stopping it. Even if you are a programmer then software patents by M$ will suck you. So every programmer must aware what are his enemies. MS is my enemy because its policies, patents stop me to code freely. I can sit at home and code and nobody stop me to code and publish it under GPL but i know who are my enemies and and fight them beside coding.
Wrong way
You should better fight against freedom's real ennemies.
freedom's real ennemies
Trying to promote Floss in a negative way is as bad for freedom as "freedom's real ennemies". Hate-campaigns just don't work (except back in 1939), and frankly I don't want to be part of a fundamentalist Floss movement. I want to be part of a positive movement. Freedom is also about choice, if one deliberately chooses to use Windows, so be it. We, as a community, can and should show the possibilities of floss and not just tell any user "windows is bad".
But the FSF is not
But the FSF is not "pro-floss" (which, entirely aside, sounds like a dentistry term to me), they're a political organization promoting only what they call "free software".
I say, ignore the FSF and focus on writing good, high-quality open source software.
Floss
you're entirely right on "Floss" sounding like a dentistry term. Unfortunately I've never seen a better term yet (Foss is even worse imho).
Too right!
I actually did a writeup earlier today debunking the FSF's statements about it.
http://digg.com/d312659