Open Source Won, but Software Freedom Hasn't Yet: A Guide & Commiseration Session for FOSS activists
summary
Open source code keeps growing but everyday software freedom shrinks: since about 2006 utopia the web installs proprietary JavaScript on every visit, modern laptops and phones pack multiple closed firmwares, and 3G shutdowns render perfectly free-capable devices useless. The charity files US tax forms on paper because e‑filing forces proprietary tools, and the org sometimes adopts closed systems so volunteers and donors need not; pragmatic small acts and targeted contributions are what actually move freedom forward.
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chapters (10)
- 0:00Introduction to the topic
- 2:28The ethics of open source
- 5:01Moral philosophy in technology
- 10:26Proprietary software dominance
- 14:19Hardware and disposability
- 19:17Data collection and inequality
- 24:07Personal compromises
- 28:17Rethinking advocacy tactics
- 34:05The paradox of free software
- 36:46A call to community action
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