"Users must understand it (they must be told so) and keep it in mind for the
free software movement to be a success."
That's only half of the truth.
Maybe the free software movement has to understand a few things as well.
Many members of it spend their time searching for solutions for their own
needs and are happy if they can free their computing because they can afford
to abandon functionality xy and yz; this gives them the feeling of being pure
and better than others, now matter how little influence their own actions
have on the general problem.
The general problem is not the missing freedom of me as an individual; it is
the missing freedom of our digital society.
But people don't get that.
They think they can achieve something by repeating over and over again how
people should stop putting convenience above freedom, and they push people so
hard and point with fingers on them so almost everyone gets scared off.
Really, I heard so many members here in this forum who never did anything but
blaming free software projects because of one single problem, some tiny flaws
in them, praising their own morality because they "never would use such
unholy crap".
It's a false morality. Maybe I'll write an essay about it.
Yes, we'll have to teach people that freedom matters. But we can't achieve
anything by running around and telling people not to use a mobile phone and
abandon this and abandon that.
There is a reason why the movement is extremly small, though the hugest
spying scandal in modern history was revealed.
We can't just blame the "stupid people who value convenience above all" and
keep on using our yeeloong.
