[oclug] [RANT] Wither Free Software?

[Rod Giffin]

Francis J. A. Pinteric said:
> On Wed, 18 Jun 2003 11:07:04 -0400 (EDT)
> "Rod Giffin" <rod at giffinscientific.com> wrote:
>
>
>> How about FLOSS :)  Free/Libre and Open Source Software.  As opposed
>> to freeware that has no open source, or open source that is not free,
>> nor liberated... or some such.  The term is being used more and more
>> often in the past year due to its use by the European Commission to
>> distinguish free, open source software from other variants in a major
>> study in 2002.
>>
>> It is also beginning to be recognized by the Canadian Government as a
>> legitimate class of software.
>>
>
> Sure, but it lacks propaganda value. It's got to have an emotional
> charge to it, like the "Software Emancipation Movement" and "Freed
> Software."  Proprietary licensed software becomes "slave software" and
> you become endentured to foreign slave owners by having to constantly
> pay for upgrades or even pay renewable license fees.  We are at war
> remember?

OK.  FLOSS is at least a way of specifying that the software is free and
open source.  But as a motivational term, it's likely only to rouse a
bunch of dentists, and all for the wrong reasons.

> We want to be able rouse the nation to say to Microsoft, "Ausländer
> Raus!"  :-)

If you want to rouse a nation, you need appeal to emotion.  Start a
revolution.  A software revolution needs a slogan, something like "Liberty
or death", or "Don't tread on me" from the American Revolution or the
"Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite" of the French Revolution.  It needs to
attach itself to the people.  Things like "I'd rather be a Rider than a
dirty Allouette" from old CFL chants are too long.  Microsoft though, with
their "Where do you want to go today" were successful.

"Open and Free, Adapt or Perish" or some such. If I knew how to do it, I'd
be in advertizing. :)

Observation: The answer is located in what Microsoft really fears from
Linux.  They could have embraced Linux and open source years ago, but
didn't.  Now they fear it.  Why?

FLOSS Every Day!  lol.

Rod.