On 03/17/2015 01:13 PM, Patrick Anderson wrote: >> It boggles my mind that >> these simple and so important ideas about software and freedom, which are so >> obvious to me, are so far out of the reach of so many people. > It boggles my mind that we refuse to acknowledge most people *already* > understand the term "Free Software" to mean "Freeware". > > Why are we so damn stubborn about such an unimportant detail that > almost instantaneously causes nearly universal confusion? > > Why not coin a new term to overcome that simple hurdle? > > I propose the term "Freedom Software". It is more descriptive > and will likely even create a certain amount of curiosity. > > As it is, we are trying to call a rose a cabbage and wondering > why nobody gets it... > > Sincerely, > Patrick Anderson > Economic Systems Engineer > http://CrossCrowdPredictiveProduction.github.io
This is the same phenomenon as software developers creating user interfaces that make perfect sense to them, but confuse and frustrate non-geek users. The solution is also the same: User-centered design, both as a methodology and as a state of mind. The essential first step sounds easy but is really very challenging: Acknowledging how little we actually know about how other people experience and understand the world we share with them. (An article I wrote on this is at http://techdesignpsych.com/thoughts/articles/) Michael Siepmann, Ph.D. The Tech Design Psychologist™ Make your technology more supportive™ 303-835-0501 TechDesignPsych.com OpenPGP: 6D65A4F7
