anna.morris's blog

I have been putting in a few hours with Open Funding for the past few weeks to get some projects up and running on their new Free Software crowd funding site called Open Funding. The idea of the site is that existing Free Software projects can fund new features and plug-ins with the help of a broad base of users. Then, the users get to test the feature before they pay their individual donations. It’s pretty simple, organic and also quite a revolution in my view.

A better way to fund Free Software?

This unique method of fund-raising brings the users and the developers much closer together. Its very diffident to the normal ways that funds get raised, for example when individuals make general donations to the project as a whole or to “kickstarter” style fund-raisers from which they may or many not see a result. It’s even more different to when large organisations donate to get their pet-project integrated quicker. Through Open Funding many users can joint together and donate small affordable amounts, as low as €1, to the features that they need the most and to the features they believe will breath life into a project… and this methodology works perfectly for Manual writing too!

Crowd Funding a manuals: recycle and improve

FlossManuals have a bunch of brilliant GPL licensed texts that can be shared, changed and shared again. One amazing feature of this system is that a book aimed at one audience can, with a few small changes, be turned into a book aimed at another audience. For example, the Email Encryption Workbook aimed at beginners in the general public can be added to so it becomes Encrypting Emails – A guide for small businesses
and small businesses and their clients can learn how keep their data private in a cost effective and simple way. Plus some new chapters will feed back into the original manual, which will also get a spring clean! Wonderful!

The manual writers get money to live off, the money is donated in a transparent way without the involvement of large corporate donors or even charities (both of whom I have worked for and am not against funding stuff to be clear) and a vital new book gets funded quickly and efficiently by people who would us it and by people who would like others to use.

Click here to help fund this manual.

Power in the hands of the developers?

However, for software in particular, there is one problem. Users need developers to make the projects happen. I have found excitement abundant in user groups, forums and mailing lists from those that use the software… but response has been less enthusiastic from those who make it. Some are too busy, often because they have day jobs. Many are suspicious of the methodology, as if somehow features are being “held to ransom” or as though this method of funding were less democratic than just getting donations from those inclined/wealthy enough.

Yet, I can empathise with this position on some levels… I have lived the past few years of my live in relative poverty, paying for software has been out of the question for the most part.

Can you CMYK it? Erm. No.

But then again… when I think of, say, the ever missing CMYK capabilities in GIMP and Inkscape (which many users requested in response to my question) which renders GIMP and Inkscape “unprofessional”  and means my printing firm have to “help me” by using a software with an unethical licence to make my work ready for print… well that changes things! Whether the reason for CMYK’s absence be a genuine lack of time, genuine technical issues (or a genuine stubbon-ness) the predicament is pretty embarrassing. So why not, all of us together, just pay someone to build this feature? I know I would put my €5 in the pot, along with about 50,000 other irritated graphic designers! There are so many features that could be added to the gimp so quickly by using this exiting new crowd funding tool to its full potential.

Out of the frying pan and into Free Software

And its not just CMYK: there are so many features that could be added to the gimp so quickly by using this exiting new crowd funding tool to its full potential. When would be a better time than to pimp-the-gimp than when Adobe have taken the extreme step of making Photoshop only a cloud too in an attempt to screw every “pirateing” user of Photoshop into the ground. Developers please email me! gingerling @ inventati .org

I don’t like adverts because they distract me, they try to manipulate me, and they are usually ugly or annoying. But this article got me thinking about adds on-line again. It focuses mostly on Add-block Plus (GPL) which now has a “white list” system. Add’s let through the block must firstly reach certain criteria (no animation, not in the way of the rest of the site, not too big etc) but secondly any large companies wishing to get unblocked  –  must pay a fee.

I have been concerned about this tactic since looking at Ghostery’s (proprietary) white-list, where it is not clear what it is and why folks are on it. Add Block Plus are at least transparent about what they do – so I can learn and blog and discuss with you guys! Also, if we compare their white list scheme to things like “vegan society approval”, “BUAV approved” or “ethical company mark” – it’s probably pretty similar. If fact, if I could could simply “block” the unethical products, those tested on animals, those with meat in, those made in sweatshops or by firms who shoot union officials, from ever being in front of my face, I probably would.

Anyway, the interesting bit for me is near the end of the article, where it says that the rough cost of an “add free internet” each month would be £44 per user, on top of whatever they pay now. So that’s all the news sites, blogs, social media sites etc we visit – all sites that don’t make money in other ways (so web shops not included).

I would like to look at how they came to this figure exactly, but for  now, I think I disagree with it. The first point is that there are many many projects, video and blog especially, which make a profit from adds because they can, not because they need to. And hello, I know how long it takes to make a video… but I am pretty sure 99% of these people would still make the video if they knew for a fact they would never see a dime. It just happens that when they start to get some serious views (and not before!) they think – hey, I could make a bit of cash by putting an add in front this. So actually, they are not the people who need the money for their site. The people are Youtube, who take a cut too. Hosting video takes a lot of server power. So does that take a dime of the cost? Did the factor in need or simply takeup of add revenue??

The situation is similar with blogs. There are so many blogs (and forums) which are “monetised” – but I really doubt this just covers the hosting, or that these people are working full time and that the adds are their income… and even if they were… how can this £44 a month argument hold up in the face of projects like Wikipedia? Given for free, paid for by donations, paid for with time and love? On top of which we know where our money is going with Wikipedia: they tell us, they keep accounts.

I am actually quite uncomfortable with the “transaction” involved with on-line adds on small sites. It goes something like “come to my site, click on an add, I get some money, you know nothing about me, it may be fulling my porn-addiction/coke-habit/mad religion… but you will never find out anyway.” This is in some ways even worse than the high-street / ethical certification situation I mentioned earlier. At least we can, to some extent, know how good/bad/ugly a shop or product is. We can make an informed decision about where our money goes. We can’t really know this with privately run internet sites… which isn’t a problem… till we are giving them money. An here-in lies an issue: by clicking on an add, we are making a financial transaction, a small one, an invisible one, sure. But there is a figure that can be put on it.

That changes the way I think about adds. I guess it’s about more than just me versus manipulation and distraction.

Interesting article on the BBC http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/comedy/news/comedian-gets-the-last-laugh-over-fcuk-logo-row-8975113.html

I spent last week animating with plasticine with some 5-11 year old children from my Mum’s church. I used Phatch, Linux Stop Motion and Kdenlive to make the animation, and got some CC music from CCmixter.org. I hope you like it 🙂

Anna

New Campaign launches: TheyDontWantYou.To

A few days ago FSFE launched a new campaign to make young people aware of the digital restrictions that they tolerate. Microblogging and guerilla stickering form core components of this fresh strategy for engaging youth in fighting for digital freedom.

The first tweet, sent on Monday, reveals a list of words which apple refuses to help you type. The list includes the words, virginity, drunkard, abortion and ammo – if you spell them wrong, your iOS spell-check won’t help you! As a dyslexic – I protest! But the question is, will apple help me spell that word? Or is it out of bounds?

They don’t want you to use controversial words in your SMS messages http://t.co/No0jbN0PjB #Apple #autocorrect #ComputerSaysNo

— TheyDontWantYou.To (@TheyDontWantYou) November 4, 2013

There has been a second attack on APC/GreenNet servers [1]. The attacks are reported to be linked to the Zimbabwe “elections” [2][3][4]. The previous attack left GreenNet/APC services unavailable or disrupted for 7 full days: GreenNet speculated that the size and scale of the attack made Government or Corporate involvement likely [lost link].

The current attack, in addition to technical changes made during the previous one, have allowed GreenNet to locate the specific site that is under attack – however, they have not yet got permission to announce the name of the site.

@DannyKushlick Good point. Yes you can. We have informed the relevant site owner, but don’t have permission to say who it is yet.

— Green Net (@GreenNetISP) August 9, 2013

I will update this post as soon as I hear more, also am updating Wikipedia.

GreenNet, a London based ISP and co-founder of the Association for Progressive Communications (APC), have suffered an extensive and lengthy  DDoS Attack – and a subsequent block by their upstream providers. Both the APC and GreenNet websites are still down, and many green net customers, which are predominately charities and activists, have been without service for several days.

The attack began at 10.15 BST on Thursday 1 August 2013 seems to be ongoing as of 22:20 BST on Sunday 4th August 2013.

GreenNet, which is a service “geared to the needs of non-profit organisations, activists and people working for social change” [1] are vocal defenders of digital rights, including privacy and the right to communicate. Green net are a non-profit who use Free Software. They founded an educational IT charity.

APC have an extensive list of achievements which include amazing programs  / events for women technology users in Africa. They have been integral to getting the developing world on-line and were the first ISP in many such countries.

It is not clear who has attacked APC/GN or why. Who ever they are, they are no friend to hactivism.

Green net responded to the DDoS attack:

@DocRichard BTW when things quieten down, we might estimate carbon emissions of an attack like this. Thanks for your support.

— Green Net (@GreenNetISP) August 4, 2013

UPDATE: 4th Aug 23:19 BST.

GreenNet has been under DDoS attack since 2013-08-01; Privacy International’s website is down as a result http://t.co/SeNpM7CW4G

— jah (@jahboite) August 4, 2013

UPDATE: 4th Aug 23:24 BST Also affected:

Make your mouse bigger. https://ask.fedoraproject.org/question/7396/cursor-size-and-trail/ – good instructions there except I couldn’t get theme to work, but making mouse size “50” (which seems to make it the maximum size) worked a treat. No more squinting!

NEWS:

Ufohunterorguk.com point out out on Greenpeace radio iceclimb show that, despite many hours of global treading on Twitter, comments from the UK deputy PM and reports by several major news papers including the 9th biggest global news paper* The Sun, the #iceclimb story is not mentioned on Google news (uk) at all.

Iceclimb is front page news in The Sun which is the largest news paper in the UK and the 9th largest in the world ...

... and yet it is not on Google News at all!

* according to wikipedia

I recently made a video and how-too guide for Documentfreedom.org about how to watch videos on YouTube using HTML5. You can checkout that info here.

The problem with the YouTube “trial” system is that it uses a cookie to record your “in the trial” status. Many of us who wish to join the future by using HTML5 for video and audio also like to clear out cookies regularly, to avoid being “followed” by creepy internet marketing people: however, by doing this we also clear the cookie which keeps them in the HTML5 trial.

Below are two guides for how to keep the HTML5 trial cookie whilst deleting others. The first guide is simple and requires little future action, but less effective at isolating the cookie: the second guide is slightly less simple, requires more regular action in the future, targets the exact cookie for the HTML5 trial. This guide is only for Firefox users for now, but “Method Three” invites people to share there knowledge of how to achieve the same thing in other browsers, and through other methodologies.

Method One: very simple.

This first method is very simple. It assumes we want to remove all cookies when we close Firefox and that all cookies from YouTube will be accepted (or “Whitelisted.” This method is therefore less effective than method two, as there will probably be other cookies relating to advertising etc from YouTube stored as well as the HTML5 trial cookie. However, you won’t need to take any further steps or routines relating to the this topic once you are done. Once you have followed this guide, you will be all set to forget about this issue (or at least until you next upgrade your browser when you may need to await add-on compatibility). For this method we will use Selectivecookiedelete, which is licensed under the GPL compatible Mozilla Public License 1.1.

1. Clear all cookies by going Tools > Clear Recent History, selecting cookies and clicking Clear Now

2.. Download the app here by clicking

After download is finished, you will be prompted to restart your browser. Once you have restarted go to www.youtube.com/html5 …

…and click to join the html5 trial.

Then go to Tools > Selective Cookie Delete > Show Preferences

We want to add our HTML5 cookie into the “whitelist” box, so, we click Edit Site List and we see the following dialogue box:

We need to click on “youtube.com” (not accounts.youtube.com) and then click on the right pointing arrow

And then we should see youtube.com on the list of websites who’s cookies will not be deleted:

If you wish to add other sites to this list, you may do so, for example, I would be happy to permanently keep cookies from my FSFE blog by adding blogs.fsfe.org to my whitelist. I know that these cookies are mostly related to my blog preferences and I know that FSFE is not / unlikely to be using cookies in a way that is unacceptable to me. However, I am less happy with stroring google’s cookies (even though I use their services every day) because Google has a poor privacy record. You will see cookies from most sites appear in the list after you have visited them, so you may want to check back here a few times over the next few days and see who else you wish to whitelist.

Click Update Sites when you are done with this stage.

We have only one more step to take to make our cookie deletion automatic:

We need to check the “Automatically remove cookies ….” box. This means that all cookies, except those on our whitelist, will be deleted when we close our browser.

Note that it may still be worth removing cookies periodically while you are still using your browser, for example, while you are browsing shops on-line. You do this by going Tools > Selective Cookie Delete > Show Preferences > Shave preferences and remove cookies. One reason for clearing cookies mid-session rather than only at the end is that there have been reports in the news of, for example, airline companies using cookies to artificially inflate prices. However, bear in mind that your shopping cart contents and previously viewed products may also be based on cookies so you need to take steps to avoid losing the links to products you want to buy.

Method Two: more effective.

This method is a little more complex, but not by any means difficult for an average computer user. The main difference is that we will specify the exact cookie that we want to keep, rather than keeping all cookies from YouTube. In this method we will use the add-on Cookies Manager+ both for keeping hold of our HTML5 Trial cookie and also, for ease of use, for general cookie deletion (ie, we will use it instead of the Tools > Clear Recent History menu). Cookies Manager+ is licensed under the GPL compatible Mozilla Public License 1.1

1) First we go to Tools > Add-ons and search for “cookie”

We need to look down the list for “Cookies Manager +” and click the install button.

Wait for the download to finish and restart as prompted

Once you have restarted go to Tools > Cookies Manager+ and you will see the Cookies Manager+ Dialogue appear. First of all, you are going to clear all your cookies so you can start afresh. To do this, tick the Select All box on the top left of the list of cookies. Then click on Delete.

Confirm to Delete All.

Now close this Cookie Control+ window.

Now, you need to go to www.youtube.com/html5 to join the html5 trial.

Here you need to click on the Join the HTML5 Trail button. This will change the web page to say “You are currently in the HTML5 Trial”

This action has set a preference cookie on your hard drive: this means that each time you visit YouTube the website will recognise you as a brilliant and forward thinking individual (and you will see videos in HTML5). You can, using Cookie Manager+ see this cookie. Go to Tools > Cookies Manager+ and you will that several new cookies have appeared. One of them is from youtube.com and is labelled PREF. This is the cookie that we want to always keep when we detele our cookies, because this is the cookie that ensures we view YouTube videos in HTML5 when possible.

So now we must ask our Cookies Manager+ add-on to make a back up of this cookie. We select it, just the youtube.com / PREF cookie:

We now go to File > Backup/Restore > Backup Selected and choose a good place to store our cookie. I made a new folder called “cookies_i_like” in my documents folder.

Then, to try out our new backup and restore system, we must delete all our cookies again and restore the html5 cookie using our new backup file.

First of all, tick the Select All box on the top left of the list of cookies and click Delete.

Next go to File > Backup/Restore > Restore All

We then need to find our backup file that we made earlier, select it and click open. Our html5 trial cookie will then be resorted and we will continue see YouTube videos more freely by default.

We can double check this by going back to the www.youtube.com/html5 and checking that we are still “in the HTML5 trial.”

Method Three? You tell me!

If you are an expert, please get in touch!

My ideas for improved methods are:

1) For GUI users this add-on seems better because it can no only isolate the exact cookie, but can automatically restore it (rather than the manual restore you need to use in method two): however, I could not get that feature to work, and still had to manually restore.

2) I found a script to isolate and keep the HTML5 trial cookie, however, I have no idea how to use it. Is this script effective? Could you write a beginners guide in how to use it?

3) Could this be built into Firefox? There was some discussion in the Tor project about building HTML5-trial into the browser: given that Firefox has worked so hard on HTML5 video, could we ask for trial inclusion to be the default?

4) Who can write guides for other browsers? So far I have had little success with HTML5 video in Chrome, however, if you know more, a guide would be great! Also, here is some information about the issue in Seamonkey.

5) What about Vimeo? I have also had very little success watching HTML5 video on Vimeo – what about you? Could you write a guide? Is HTM5 video in Vimeo cookie based too?

Ideas for more cookies to keep:

Which other in/out cookies should we think about keeping?

You may wish to look at locating and keeping the cookie mentioned in this video. This cookie is involved in disabling targeted advertising (but it doesn’t stop the data collection in the first place).

Do you have any more suggestions? Post a comment or email me at anna . morris @ fsfe.org