[FM Discuss] why you should stop using pirated software and learn to love freedom

Thu Feb 12 19:02:36 PST 2009

On Fri, 2009-02-13 at 05:03 +0100, Julian Oliver wrote:
> ..on Fri, Feb 13, 2009 at 03:42:47AM +1300, adam hyde wrote:
> > hi,
> > 
> > I was thinking of sending this to a few lists populated by educators
> > that support free software (iDC, Rhizome, Fibreculture, nettime
> > etc)...comments welcome 
> 
> you and i have both waxed on about this over the years. great to see you've put
> some words down. 
> 

yip...i remember the audit you did of the cost of tools when you were at
RMIT. it was the starting point for what I wrote. Conversations with
Michael Mandiberg throughout the FLOSSify process have also been great
fuel which finally lead to laying key to screen

> i do think it's a little hard-core to say that
> 
> 	If you teach pirated software then you are not a supporter of the
> 	principles and practice of Free Software. This is true whether you run
> 	Ubuntu on your personal laptop or not.
> 
> .. but it simply is true, albeit a little unclear to those not versed in what
> constitutes Free Software (remember, open-source to many people actively using
> the term in their practice means "without copyright", "invites public
> collaboration" or "public domain"!). 
> 
> perhaps it'd be better to say "if you teach software you know your students do
> not own and/or cannot afford.."? that said, it seems this paragraph assumes that
> people are familiar with the "principles and practice of Free Software". i guess
> it comes down to who you imagine your audience is here.
> 

yeah, I think my intention is to talk to those people on lists that
already know what free sw is because they are sooo close to teaching it
but dont. i wasnt too interested in going through the 'what is open
source' issue as its a much bigger issue and those that are 'in the
know' might not sit through it to get to the concluding points

> regardless, the hardest point to push for free software in these difficult
> economic times will be its role in the context of 'employability'. 
> 
> to these ends educators, parents and tax-payers are always going to default to
> the argument that Industry Standard software best represents the interests of
> students. you basically say it yourself but i think you could be even more
> affirmative in the argument: teaching /only/ so-called Industry Standard
> software is actually "anti-competitive", narrowing student skill-base and so
> reducing possibility for innovation within their discipline:

nice argument...i will include this in a revised version before sending

>  students of mine at
> a workshop recently introduced themselves and their skills not as Image Makers,
> 3D modelers and Film Makers but as people that knew Photoshop CS, 3DSMax and
> Final Cut Pro. in this way learning other suites, alongside their (stolen or
> not) proprietary software, offers a more rounded education that could give
> students the edge in an economic drought.

lovely example. scary to think of branded sectors like this. eeek. 

> 
> (the 'anti-competitive' argument usually strikes a positive note with the
> neo-cons ;)
> 
> finally, it is the maldistribution of wealth toward - and subsequent dependence
> upon - corporations that has got us into this so-called crisis. with this in
> mind you can argue that free software presents a valuable opportunity to help
> strengthen local tech sectors; now's a great time to take advantage of a primary
> attribute unique to Free Software, mutability: save money on software licenses
> and invest in localisation. put money into local free software projects and push
> that software into schools in the interests of a richer future for local markets
> and their makers.

nice!!!!! 

many thanks Julian for these very salient points. I see how I can extend
the article to include these and credit you 

cheers

adam

> 
> cheers,
> 
> -- 
> Julian Oliver
> home: New Zealand
> based: Madrid, Spain
> currently: Madrid, Spain
> about: http://julianoliver.com
> 
> > ----------
> > Ever pirated software? Most people I know have done this and felt fine
> > about it. Downloading a cracked copy of Photoshop feels ok, or
> > installing Windows and looking at a serialz site is something that
> > doesn't raise much of an issue to many people. Often the software they
> > need is just too expensive, they are used to it or need it or want to
> > try it, and can't afford the expensive licensing fee, 
> > 
> > Students do this a lot - how can a first year design student actually
> > afford Adobe Creative Suite? Many can't. Its also true in business,
> > although in my experience sooner or later most people in business buy
> > the software either out of a sense of moral obligation or fear of being
> > caught. 
> > 
> > So this seems ok. I mean, it seems to be actually tolerated by software
> > companies. The film industry might bust a student for illegally
> > downloading a movie, but software companies tend to be a little more
> > lenient. Why make bad press when you know a student will eventually get
> > a job and come good. In fact its great that Universities teach their
> > products in the first place. This is how a tool becomes an industry
> > standard - so no need to kick up a fuss. Actually, software companies
> > can very easily justify the use of unlicensed software used by
> > students as a marketing cost. 
> > 
> > While some might object to the role Universities play in criminalising
> > their students and playing the role of out-sourced marketing
> > departments for proprietary software companies, thats not the real
> > problem. 
> > 
> > I don't mean that educators are just wrong to assume teaching
> > proprietary software gets students jobs. That seems obviously stupid. We all know that teaching a
> > tool doesn't make you a good crafts person. Teaching the craft makes
> > you a good crafts person. Tools come into it, but tools change,
> > especially in any industry that uses software (which is every
> > industry). Paradigms shift and industry fashions change. Sometimes a
> > dominant player is over-run by a new comer, or, more often, the vendors
> > themselves change their own tools either to get you to buy the new
> > version, or (less commonly) to make their software better. Nothing is
> > stable in software, so knowing software concepts is much more important
> > than knowing which tool bar to click. 
> > 
> > However, while poorly equipping their students for the real world is
> > probably pretty high on the list of known sins for educators, I'm not
> > an academic, I'm in the Free Software business. When these actions
> > effect Free Software I feel the pain more acutely. Its a simple
> > product of being normally self absorbed. When pirated software is
> > taught I feel the impact more keenly when it directly effects me. 
> > 
> > My job is partly about promoting the adoption of free software,
> > and so when I see pirated software being taught in educational
> > institutions I feel obliged to point out that pirated software hurts
> > Free Software way more than it hurts Proprietary Software. 
> > 
> > Pirated software hinders the understanding, acceptance, distribution
> > and uptake of Free Software while simultaneously promoting proprietary
> > software. Its as simple as that. 
> > 
> > If you teach pirated software then you are not a supporter of the
> > principles and practice of Free Software. This is true whether you run
> > Ubuntu on your personal laptop or not.
> > 
> > Teaching pirated software, while providing a fantastic marketing
> > opportunity for proprietary software vendors, criminalising students,
> > and poorly equipping them for their craft, is also joining the fight
> > against Free Software.
> > 
> > I would say it actually goes further than that but I was trying to keep
> > my arguments less ideologically driven and more pragmatic. I also need
> > to ponder it more...something about the fact that teaching pirated
> > software puts a price on freedom, and that you do not support the
> > principles of libre, if you promote it as secondary to the principles
> > of gratis...perhaps for another post...
> > 
> > adam
> > 
> > 
> > -- 
> > Adam Hyde
> > Founder FLOSS Manuals
> > German mobile : + 49 15 2230 54563
> > Email : adam at flossmanuals.net
> > 
> > "Free manuals for free software"
> > http://www.flossmanuals.net/about
> > 
> > 
> > 
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-- 
Adam Hyde
Founder FLOSS Manuals
German mobile : + 49 15 2230 54563
Email : adam at flossmanuals.net

"Free manuals for free software"
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