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Block NSA funding for collecting the call records of all Americans

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Re: Block NSA funding for collecting the call records of all Americans

#2
This is something real, tangible, and valuable that we can all actually do. All of this month I have felt powerless. This is something within everyone's power to do, and it can definitely help start the ball rolling back the way it came.

It is pretty unfortunate that there is such a short window of time in which this information can be disseminated. I can imagine if there were a bit more time, this could really spread over the whole Web, as the SOPA outroar did. Anyway, we have to do the best we can, with the time we have.

Re: Block NSA funding for collecting the call records of all Americans

#4

This is something real, tangible, and valuable that we can all actually do. All of this month I have felt powerless. This is something within everyone's power to do, and it can definitely help start the ball rolling back the way it came. It is pretty unfortunate that there is such a short window of time in which this information can be disseminated. I can imagine if there were a bit more time, this could really sprea…

Yeah! That'll work! Just like the Occupy movement.

Will there be beer?

Re: Block NSA funding for collecting the call records of all Americans

#5

This is something real, tangible, and valuable that we can all actually do. All of this month I have felt powerless. This is something within everyone's power to do, and it can definitely help start the ball rolling back the way it came. It is pretty unfortunate that there is such a short window of time in which this information can be disseminated. I can imagine if there were a bit more time, this could really sprea…

Yeah! That'll work! Just like the Occupy movement. Will there be beer?

I hope you'll be downvoted to hell.

HN should be about constructive criticism. We're all intelligent people, we can all tear down anything we put our mind at, but that doesn't mean that we should, or we wouldn't leave our house every day.

I know I'm a cynic and it's a bad habit I'm trying to change, maybe you should try too.

Re: Block NSA funding for collecting the call records of all Americans

#6
I have a question.

It's pretty much a safe bet that the NSA runs Open Source Software. You can't do anything on the internet these days without using FLOSS.

I'm not an expert in software licenses but can't GNU, Linus, Mozilla and all other Open Source contributers revoke the NSA's license to use their software?

Surely Open Source licenses, just like any other license, can be revoked?

Re: Block NSA funding for collecting the call records of all Americans

#7
post #6

I have a question. It's pretty much a safe bet that the NSA runs Open Source Software. You can't do anything on the internet these days without using FLOSS. I'm not an expert in software licenses but can't GNU, Linus, Mozilla and all other Open Source contributers revoke the NSA's license to use their software? Surely Open Source licenses, just like any other license, can be revoked?

Not likely to happen - https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html

> The freedom to run the program, for any purpose (freedom 0).

Re: Block NSA funding for collecting the call records of all Americans

#8
post #6

I have a question. It's pretty much a safe bet that the NSA runs Open Source Software. You can't do anything on the internet these days without using FLOSS. I'm not an expert in software licenses but can't GNU, Linus, Mozilla and all other Open Source contributers revoke the NSA's license to use their software? Surely Open Source licenses, just like any other license, can be revoked?

It's not open source if you specify who can and cannot use it. There was some bit of software years ago that had a clause like "no neonazis may use this software", and it got DQ'ed from Debian because that made it not free software.

It's a bit like free speech: you really want to be very, very careful about limiting what people can say.

Re: Block NSA funding for collecting the call records of all Americans

#9
post #6

I have a question. It's pretty much a safe bet that the NSA runs Open Source Software. You can't do anything on the internet these days without using FLOSS. I'm not an expert in software licenses but can't GNU, Linus, Mozilla and all other Open Source contributers revoke the NSA's license to use their software? Surely Open Source licenses, just like any other license, can be revoked?

They they can't. Most (all?) of the opensource licenses do not have the "revokable clause" with them.

Re: Block NSA funding for collecting the call records of all Americans

#10
I think this is fighting the symptom rather than the cause. NSA is a symptom of a much larger problem, which is taxes. If you didn't have them, you wouldn't have to demand those things in the first place, because all the money you'd give would be given voluntarily and to organizations that you choose and think are important.
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