Hi, all. RMS is giving a talk at Queen Mary University on Feb 12th. I've heard it already, but I'm thinking about coming down to attend and see people anyway. Hope to see some of you there..
Message forwarded, - Chris. -----Forwarded Message----- Tuesday, 12 February at 7pm Skeel lecture theatre, the people's palace QMUL Mile End Campus http://www.qmul.ac.uk/travel/mileend.shtml RICHARD STALLMAN, software hacker (in the "geek" sense), founder of the Free Software Foundation and of the GNU Project, and principal author of some of the most important GNU software, will briefly be in London in February. We are fortunate enough to have him come to Queen Mary, University of London, at short notice to give a public lecture on "Copyright vs Community in the Age of Computer Networks". Stallman has a long-held belief that software should be free in the same way that mathematical knowledge has traditionally been free--this is manifested in the GNU General Public Licence (and friends) and "copyleft". In order that we may gauge numbers, if you wish to attend the lecture please contact Sue White: [EMAIL PROTECTED] or 020 7882 5217. Lecture Abstract: Copyright developed in the age of the printing press, and was designed to fit with the system of centralized copying imposed by the printing press. But the copyright system does not fit well with computer networks, and only draconian punishments can enforce it. The global corporations that profit from copyright are lobbying for draconian punishments, and to increase their copyright powers, while suppressing public access to technology. But if we seriously hope to serve the only legitimate purpose of copyright--to promote progress, for the benefit of the public--then what must be done is either to reduce copyright powers or effectively eliminate them, depending on the kind of work. Governments must now protect the public's right to copy. Background URLs about the GNU project, "GNU/Linux" and free software: http://www.uk.gnu.org/ http://www.uk.gnu.org/philosophy/philosophy.html http://www.uk.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html http://www.uk.gnu.org/philosophy/free-software-for-freedom.html http://www.uk.gnu.org/philosophy/free-doc.html http://www.uk.gnu.org/licenses/licenses.html http://www.uk.gnu.org/copyleft/copyleft.html http://www.uk.gnu.org/gnu/manifesto.html http://www.uk.gnu.org/gnu/thegnuproject.html http://www.uk.gnu.org/gnu/linux-and-gnu.html http://www.uk.gnu.org/gnu/why-gnu-linux.html Richard Stallman's personal web page: http://www.stallman.org/ ----- End forwarded message ----- -- $a="printf.net"; Chris Ball | chris@void.$a | www.$a | finger: chris@$a There is no emoticon for what I am feeling.' -- Comic Book Guy
