[Fsfe-uk] An advocate's attempt to write about Free Software

[visctrix]

[copy of previous email sent from wrong address - unsubscribed]

Hi there

I've seen posts on this list in the past about trying to encourage the voluntary and community sector to embrace free software, and I wonder if I might have something to contribute... In fact Bob Sutor has linked to me, so I must be writing something vaguely interesting.

I've written a post on my blog⁽¹⁾ that tries to bring up issues of disability, poverty, accessibility and community in a positive way in the context of free software, and also sound a warning about the dangers of Microsoft's business practices.

I'm planning to start to set up an advocacy wiki in the coming months, and this blog post was an early effort at getting my head round some of the issues that are motivating me and how they link between the IT world and the work of advocates (more info available in the blog, but we support people to be able to speak out and get better services, typically people with disabilities or health problems, but also children in care, homeless people, etc.)

I would welcome any feedback or suggestions, but I offer it with the possibility that you may find it comes from a usefully different perspective and may be worth looking at. (There's also some related observations near the end of an old post about Google⁽²⁾.)

Cheers,

Henry


1: http://advocacyblog.blogspot.com/2007/01/open-source-fest.html

2: http://advocacyblog.blogspot.com/2006/05/google-good.html


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the future will belong not to those for who action is a demand for morose and disagreeable work, but to those who, on the contrary, will deliver the world from its exhausting boredom - bataille