Re: On a brighter note

[Clemens Toennies]

Thanks Valorie for raising that topic.

There is surely a very important aspect about ownership of hardware and
software and the right to truly change things around as one likes, instead
of just "look, but don't touch (in fear you might break it)", which turns
any sw/hw into a mere "open-core-like" concept at best.

While nothing is perfect, KDE is imo the closest to a truly open
environment/organization that encourages tinkering and experimentation
while seeking standardization among similar projects, as that is a very
good prerequisite to easily change things around for the user, be it in
software or hardware (e.g. cables or batteries).

Let's therefore work on how to attract and grow KDE into an even more
easily accessible community/tech development hub for anyone wanting to join
and engage in such activities.

Greetings, Clemens.


On Sat, Mar 27, 2021, 03:11 Valorie Zimmerman 
wrote:

> Hello all, I became aware today of Declaration of Digital Autonomy (draft
> 0.1): https://techautonomy.org/
>
> This seems like a good beginning to a general way to frame the issues we
> care about. I'm not about to abandon the phrase "free software" however, we
> need more than free software. We need tech that serves the needs of people
> rather than corporations.
>
> As an example, System76 leaders recently testified to the US State of
> Colorado in support of a proposed law guaranteeing the "right to repair."
> [1] This is a live issue in the US where major corporations are trying to
> change owners of products into lessees or licensees! And farmers who buy
> seeds too.
>
> Crazy world we live in, but we are shaping it as we work together.
>
> Valorie
>
> 1.
> https://blog.system76.com/post/64672687237120/carl-testimony-hb21-1199mp3
>
> --
> http://about.me/valoriez - pronouns: she/her
>
>
>

Re: On a brighter note

[Dan Leinir Turthra Jensen]

On Saturday, 27 March 2021 02:10:20 GMT Valorie Zimmerman wrote:
> Hello all, I became aware today of Declaration of Digital Autonomy (draft
> 0.1): https://techautonomy.org/
> 
> This seems like a good beginning to a general way to frame the issues we
> care about. I'm not about to abandon the phrase "free software" however, we
> need more than free software. We need tech that serves the needs of people
> rather than corporations.

  It does indeed! Software freedom is certainly an important thing, but it 
does seem to suffer (however it was originally intended) somewhat from 
forgetting that software is only a part of the situation. Digital Autonomy has 
a much broader scope, and is much more in line with what KDE's mission 
statement says about people having control over their own digital life and 
enjoys freedom and privacy. So yes, definitely, just as a term, digital 
autonomy rings much clearer to me than software freedom.
  As you also say, i'm not about to abandon the term entirely, it is a really 
solid descriptor when talking about specifically software, and how "open 
source" is just not the same as "free software". But having another bit to add 
to our vocabulary on the topic is very much a good thing :)

> As an example, System76 leaders recently testified to the US State of
> Colorado in support of a proposed law guaranteeing the "right to repair."
> [1] This is a live issue in the US where major corporations are trying to
> change owners of products into lessees or licensees! And farmers who buy
> seeds too.
> 
> Crazy world we live in, but we are shaping it as we work together.
> 
> Valorie
> 
> 1.
> https://blog.system76.com/post/64672687237120/carl-testimony-hb21-1199mp
> 3


-- 
..dan / leinir..
http://leinir.dk/