Tag Archives: FSFE

La FSFE aux RMLL

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La FSFE était présente aux Rencontres mondiales du logiciel libre, qui se tenaient ce mois de juillet à Strasbourg. Un grand merci aux organisateurs, notamment à Jean-Michel Ramseyer et Nicolas Jean pour le thème Internet du programme, qui se focalisait notamment sur les systèmes distribués libres.

C’est d’ailleurs l’un des nombreux sujets abordés par Karsten Gerloff, interviewé lors des RMLLs. Vous pouvez télécharger l’entretien, doublé en français sur le site des RMLL (streaming, m3u ou téléchargement direct, ogg/vorbis).

My opinion on the General Assembly

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FSFE’s General Assembly was held at the beginning of the month, in Ljubljana, Slovenia. This was my first important meeting since the election. Many topics were discussed there. It’s very motivating to work with people who are so dedicated to Free Software. Although we didn’t always agree with each other on everything, the days of the GA were very productive about what we can do for Free Software in the future, as an organisation with so much diversity.

It’s clear that members of the GA have an incredible experience of Free Software, and looking backwards 11 years ago, FSFE has done a lot. With new challenges ahead (funding of Free Software; software as a service and “cloud” computing), and also with a whole lot more people in the Fellowship, it seems that our work here isn’t over.

There is also much room for improvement in the organisation itself:

  • How we communicate to the public, and with other Free Software organisations in Europe and elsewhere.
  • How we promote cooperation within FSFE and in the wider community.
  • How we can make the organisation grow, to reach upper goals.

But together we’ll get there I am sure. FSFE is a very lively organisation, and it was a real pleasure to meet new people at the GA and to see again old fellows 🙂

I really encourage all fellows who feel at home in this community and want to promote Free Software further to dive in and try the experience!

PS: /me working on the fellowship roadmap for 2011/2012. Stay tuned!

A (short) update from FSFE

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I haven’t been quite talkative on this blog these last couple of months… (hey, for those of you who read French) but I can guarantee you I will be back! It is also that things are moving fast and it’s been hard to have a minute to blog! No possibility to get bored: things are happening at the European Commission especially with the battle for Open Standards and the Digital Agenda. What’s more, Document Freedom Day is now in 3 days, and with our fellows in Berlin we will thank Radio Stations adopting the Ogg Vorbis open standard. Finally, the annual workshop of the European Legal Network, maintained by FSFE, is coming near in Amsterdam! Lots of interesting topics, I’m sure I’ll find some time to give my views on them!

Oh, and I also have to do all this university work about my internship, which ends in 2 months déjà!

Why Free Software matters for Society (draft)

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Please give me your feedback on this draft article 😉 It is intended for publication on FSFE.org so for now it is All Rights reserved.

Free Software is defined by four freedoms, and intends to create ethical relationships in the digital age of society, based on trust, responsibility and freedom.

In a world where we rely increasingly upon Information Technologies such as software and networks, it is important to realize software is more than code. The effects of programs go beyond the limited scope of developers, and contribute to shape our future.

The Free Software movement aims at making this future possible for everyone by ensuring fundamental principles of freedom for all, equally.

In order to achieve this goal, Richard M. Stallman defined four freedoms. At first sight however, these criteria are only valuable to hackers and developers. It is true that for most users access to source code does not seem important, neither do the rights to modify and publish improvements. The utility of software freedom is not obvious for all because only few have the capacity to enjoy hacking.

Free Software is valuable to society since it enables the emergence of a system, in the same perspective as Democracy. Democracy leads to the transformation of political systems, especially towards more freedom for all. However, in order to achieve this the political system goes through several steps before everyone value political rights. The fact that someone cannot enjoy the freedom given by the system does not mean he cannot enjoy its effects. To illustrate this, think of the process of an election.

The Constitution gives to every citizen over a certain age the right to be candidate in a political election. But it does not mean that everyone will, because only some citizens have the capacity and want to become politicians. Would you say that Democracy does not matter because you do not want to be in politics? No, the scope of Democracy is larger than just the election system. Whether you participate directly or not, you as a citizen enjoy the effects of freedom in your political system.

Quite the same distinction occurs in Free Software. Its licences grant rights to use, share, study and improve the program. But it does not mean that everyone will. These rights are fundamental for the software system because nothing stops you if you want to learn how software works or how to read source code. It depends on your own choice.

Thus, Free Software concurs to a system in which developers and users are equal and potential hackers. It results in a system in which freedom and equality are at core. That is also why Free Software is good for business and for education. Because if your creation is better than the competition, you are allowed to start yourself.

It is also important for education because Free Software gives everyone the right to read and understand source code. And this is a very important step toward a free society in the digital age, when technology will be even more invasive. It is important that more people are able to read and modify source code, so that it is not an extreme minority of people who shape the system for us.

This is a question of social control. What freedom will we have in a society of digital illiterates? Free Software enables people to be in control in digital society and gives the possibility to learn, to read and to write.

“Free Software, Free Society”