[FM Discuss] what is book

[Edward Cherlin]

On Sun, Nov 2, 2008 at 11:52 AM, Luke Faraone <luke at laptop.org> wrote:
>
>
> On Sun, Nov 2, 2008 at 14:49, adam hyde <adam at flossmanuals.net> wrote:
>>
>> hi,
>>
>>
>> on reflection, i think it would be great to produce a 'what is free
>> software' manual...i really had the impression that many people at
>> DocTrain were wary of it just because they didn't know what it was. we
>> might be able to get events like DocTrain (etc) to buy some copies to
>> give away to participants...
>>
>> anyone feel like taking the lead to put a manual like this together?

I will contribute, but I have too much going on to take on the whole
project. I can certainly recruit writers, discuss tools, and do other
tasks that don't require too much time.

> Well, I'm not sure whether we need to write one.
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_software seems to be fairly comprehensive
> and well written. (but GFDL'd)

Tolerably well-written, but by no means comprehensive. We need to
explain the practical benefits not only of the Free Software process
and software, but open standards and open content of all kinds, and
also the disadvantages of proprietary software, including "Security by
Obscurity". The biggest issue is the conflict between the private
interests of corporations that make money selling these products, and
the public interest in having the widest possible dissemination of
software and content.

As is ever the case, in order to get usable answers you first have to
ask relevant questions.

What is software worth? When you look at the first-order economic
effects of software, proprietary software adds directly to the usual
GDP measure, and Free Software seems to add nothing. When you look at
the second order of effects, that is, what the software is used for,
and what value it creates in use, the answer is that Free Software
contributes value that dwarfs the proprietary market. As you look at
further effects, the value of Free Software increases at each step as
far as the eye can see or the mind imagine. I know of no economists
who take this issue seriously, and no published research on the
matter. If anyone knows of any, please send contact information and
links.

Second question: What is the target audience? User classes include

Software developers
Content authors (textbooks, fiction, non-fiction, music, video...)
Corporate IT management
Home users
Education
Global development
Government agencies
Politicians

It also makes a difference what countries we are targeting, and how
widely we want to get our work translated. The relative effects are
quite different in different economic environments.

> -lf
>
>
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