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The Day We Fight Back

thedaywefightback.org

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Re: The Day We Fight Back

#141

Post by marcosdumay »

SoftwareMaven wrote: post #130
arca_vorago wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Can you think of even one GPL product that has been successful through sales of GPL licenses? " Actually yes, I can think of a quite a few. Redhat is a good example of a huge industry built around GPL software. That really isn't the point though, and allow me to summarize your misconception. "nobody else needs to purchase it because the first customer can simply give it away to everyone for free and you have no reco…

You are not required to give that first customer the source code with BSD. The only companies that make money on software containing GPL'd code are doing it server-side with pre-GPLV3 or AGPL'd code. I've worked at a lot of companies that used and created open source software; and the rules are invariably the same: No GPL'd software allowed into the source tree, period.

You are not required to give that first customer the source code with BSD.

That's only different if you are selling other people's software. If so, why should anybody have any simpaty?

Re: The Day We Fight Back

#142

Post by mcherm »

gaius wrote: post #115
vidarh wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The reason Aaron gets so much sympathy (EDIT: for what he did as well as for how he was treated) is that 1) a substantial portion of the JSTOR data is public domain , 2) a substantial portion of the rest is work funded with public money where it is controversial that it is only available under copyright. But even disregarding that, I don't get why you are baffled: The GPL is a hack intended to spread freedoms. Many w…

Without IP, what stops people incorporating GPL code in their closed source proprietary products? See you can't have your cake and eat it. Either you believe there is a thing called a license which travels with your product and binds the user as to how they can use it, or you don't, there isn't really any middle ground there. The alternative is "everything is public domain!" in which case, no GPL.

I would expect that nearly any supporter of the GPL would also support a change to the law that eliminated copyright restrictions on the use of code.

The purpose of the GPL is not to prevent people from modifying and building on the code. The purpose... well, let me quote from http://www.gnu.org/licenses/quick-guide-gplv3.html :

  There are four freedoms that every user should have:

    the freedom to use the software for any purpose,

    the freedom to change the software to suit your needs,

    the freedom to share the software with your friends and neighbors, and

    the freedom to share the changes you make.
The GPL is a clever legal "hack" to achieve this, by allowing the code to be used only by others who agree to play by these rules. If the law were changed to enforce these rules directly, then no GPL would be needed. And eliminating intellectual property law restrictions on the use of code would get almost all the way there. (Companies would still be free to "protect" their code through secrecy: releasing only the compiled version and not the source code, but decompilers are pretty darn effective.)

Re: The Day We Fight Back

#143

Post by marcosdumay »

trustfundbaby wrote: post #32
jlgaddis wrote: post #16

Yay, slacktivism! ----- edit: I wrote the above because there was no clear "call to action" other than changing one's Facebook profile picture (seriously?) but, according to the "Open Letter" [0], I guess we're all supposed to call our legislators that day. [0]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7037532

I thought so too, but the big banner has a way to find and call your political representative about the issue. I'm just worried that the American populace isn't sufficiently interested in the issue to do anything about it. Now if the top 100 sites in the US shut down for a day in protest ...

> Now if the top 100 sites in the US shut down for a day in protest ...

... we'd call them hypocritical.

Re: The Day We Fight Back

#144

Post by mcherm »

waterlesscloud wrote: post #84
sethbannon wrote: post #2

It's long past time that we channel our outrage into political action on this issue.

Everyone will just re-elect the same congressmen and senators who got us here. Because theirs is different, of course.

If it is your intention to assume that nothing can get any better so we should just sit back and do nothing, then would you do me a favor? Would you please start doing nothing BEFORE posting the "it's all hopeless" comment. From your point of view it won't make any difference, but from the point of view of those of us who think that one can (on the whole) make (slow) progress by speaking up and taking action it will make a difference.

Re: The Day We Fight Back

#145

Post by marcosdumay »

bambax wrote: post #136

The often mentioned quote from B. Franklin (reproduced in the linked site) about "any society" giving up a little liberty for a little security and deserving neither is I think quite funny, because giving up liberty in exchange for security is the very definition of society. Society is not about liberty; it's about control, surveillance, obedience, in exchange from keeping aliens at bay. If everyone's my brother I do…

Society is a bunch of people gathering togheter because they are happier that way. If everybody is your brother, you won't be any better living alone in a field.

Yeah, other people always come with some kind of surveilance and disagreement, but that's a consequence, not the goal.

Re: The Day We Fight Back

#146

Post by marcosdumay »

whatevsbro wrote: post #133
tstactplsignore wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>The actual problem is the existence of the NSA >and governments That escalated quickly.

Sure, but it's true. Think about it for a moment. They operate in complete secrecy behind the scenes. You have no power over them, but they have massive power over you. Clearly, neither the NSA nor the government are accountable to you or people in general because you simply have no recourse against any injustice they commit against you. If the government imprisons you without due process, for example, you're effecti…

> They operate in complete secrecy behind the scenes.

That's not an intrinsical property of governments. In fact, it's even possible to prove that a government is transparent (I doubt any current one is), you just need to publish all the money transfers.

Re: The Day We Fight Back

#147

Post by marcosdumay »

dragonwriter wrote: post #69
l33tbro wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Poppycock. Give me some "good reasons" why spying on the private lives of citizens of ally countries is not an act of terrorism?

> Give me some "good reasons" why spying on the private lives of citizens of ally countries is not an act of terrorism? Because terrorism is the use of violence or threat of violence directed at civilian populations or otherwise outside the generally accepted norms of warfare to effect political change, and spying, while it may support the use or threat of violence, is, in and of itself, neither the use nor threat of…

Well, is blackmail a kind of violence? (honest question)

Re: The Day We Fight Back

#150

Post by lukeschlather »

niuzeta wrote: post #71
sinak wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're wrong about the lack of groups who lobby. An abbreviated list of groups who do that: EFF, Public Knowledge, Demand Progress, Engine Advocacy, CDT, OTI, Free Press. Many of these have multiple registered lobbyists walking the halls of Congress and taking meetings. I've actually done this myself too, on my pet issue of cell phone unlocking, with the help of a lobbyist from D.C. Unfortunately, most of these group…

> > What I find strange is that (Please correct me on this one) there just doesn't seem to be a political group of technologist who lobby(the original meaning) against politicians. As I've stated I am rather ignorant of such groups. I stand corrected. Now, awareness of those groups should be more spread, wouldn't you agree?

The first organization on "The Day We Fight Back" is the EFF. If you want to raise awareness, take part in this thing. And go to EFF meetups this month.
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