anna.morris's blog
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Phone Coop pdf “bug” – FIXED.
Last thing on Friday I sent an email to submit a motion to the AGM of The Phone-Coop, asking that the swap the links to adobe (on their billing emails) to links to pdfreaders.org. First thing on Monday they called me back saying they had decided to implement the suggestion straight away. They said it was so simple to do and clearly the right choice to make – they said the simply hadn’t considered that there might be another choice available.
Here is what I said to them in my initial email:
“I propose that The Phone Coop remove all links, adverts and buttons pertaining to Adobe’s PDF Reader application, and any other proprietary PDF reader apps. These should be replaced a similar link to pdfreaders.org, which provides 13 alternative readers for download, with those appropriate for the viewer’s operating system highlighted clearly. All applications listed are Free / Open Source.
The PDF readers downloadable from pdfreaders.org are developed cooperatively (1). Their development and licensing fulfill all the values
and principles listed by the ICA (2). They can be shared or sold, studied,
changed and used by anyone – for any purpose.
I’m a member of the Phone Coop because I believe in the cooperative values of “shared ownership and democratically made decisions.” (3) Adobe do not believe in these values – their decision making and technology are closed and proprietary. I believe that the cooperative model of an “autonomous association of persons who voluntarily cooperate for their
mutual, social, economic, and cultural benefit” (4) is the best for society. Adobe do not believe in this either: their business model is based on hiding and hoarding knowledge and power: they prohibit cultural cooperation through learning, and they prohibit social cooperation through sharing. This behavior is not necessary to make a good technical product: in fact it is detrimental to technological progress, user freedom, and also user safety and security.
The Phone Coop can choose to stop advertising a Adobe by refusing to promote the use of their products. We could instead further promote cooperative values: simply by replacing a few website links. I would therefore like to propose we do so.”
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(1) Please note that if this point is challenged, I am not stating that there are no dictatorial situations in development, but that as the code is free to be changed by anyone in any way, democratic decision making is very literally ensured.
(2) http://2012.coop/en/what-co-op/co-operative-identity-values-principles
(3) The phone coop website.
(4) Wikipedia page on cooperativism, quoted from the ICA