Michael Downey 🚩 @downey@floss.social

⛔ Some people think that if they just keep trying enough times to write #discrimination into #OpenSource, the world's problems will all disappear.

🎁 Others of us know that #FreeSoftware - for everyone, yes, even our enemies - is the only proven way to guarantee #tech can be used to protect #humanRights, fight #fascism, and save the #planet and ourselves.

If you think more people should realize the difference.

https://github.com/DPGAlliance/DPG-Standard/issues/137#issuecomment-1207085940

📉 Does anyone know if #Atlassian #Jira still uses usernames as primary keys in its database?

Having involuntarily managed many of their tools, I can't say I'm surprised that they are not profitable after 20 years.

And still concerned so many #OpenSource projects use their stuff. #FreeSoftware needs Free tooling.

https://www.smartcompany.com.au/startupsmart/analysis/atlassian-unprofitable-valuation-adam-schwab/

💡 It leaves out the important reminder that many of the #digitalPublicGoods used to create this so-called "public #infrastructure" have their roots in #FreeSoftware, which allows citizens to control of their own "digital lives" without government or quasi-government corporate #surveillance as intermediary.

e.g., I may have a Chinese-made phone sold with Google's #Android spyware, but because it's #OpenSource I am free to install a privacy-protecting OS instead.

3/4

https://jacobin.com/2022/06/us-tech-companies-government-contracts-data-google-facebook-microsoft-amazon/

Lots of understandable concern today as #Microsoft #GitHub announced their new #Copilot availability today. Probably worth a reminder that @conservancy has convened a working group on #ethics, #licensing, and other related issues, especially for #FreeSoftware and #OpenSource contributors.

Perhaps you or others may want to join or read more?

Boosts welcome!

https://sfconservancy.org/news/2022/feb/23/committee-ai-assisted-software-github-copilot/

#FreeSoftware & #OpenSource has its own version of regulatory capture.

Have you seen it yet?

If not, look closer.

🇺🇳 If #FreeSoftware is considered as an aspect of the #HumanRights of education and expression, then access to that scientific work should be made available equally to all human beings without regard to nationality, race, religion, country of origin, or other status.

(3/3)

https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights

As lawmakers and other so-called policy experts become aware of the usage of #FreeSoftware & #OpenSource tools being used in the "cyberwarfare" currently underway, get ready for an uptick for a rehash of the old "Ethical Source" conversations and others suggesting that somehow copyright licenses & laws would stop people from doing bad things using their software.

From escaping corporate #SurveillanceCapitalism to protecting #privacy for activists and you and me, #FreeSoftware can help our world heal from the years of harm that technology has enabled.

Check out the #iLoveFS campaign today to learn more about software freedom and how it can make our lives better.

💶🏆💵 Know an individual, team, or organization creating #OpenSource #software for good? Tell them to apply for the 2022 Pizzigati Prize, which celebrates software #developers and awards cash grants. #FreeSoftware #FLOSS

https://www.nten.org/article/apply-for-the-2022-pizzigati-prize/

#FreeSoftware #OpenSource #pragmatism #values

"If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse, and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality."

- Desmond Tutu

#FreeSoftware #stickers

"More generally, I believe that #opensource development should return to its roots as a #freesoftware movement guided by moral principles. Doing so would help the open source community set better boundaries, which would in turn improve software quality, funding, and working conditions. Without a moral center to give developers a spine, they’ll continue to race to the bottom to please corporate interests."

https://www.haskellforall.com/2021/12/funding-isnt-problem-with-open-source.html

Via Lawfare: "The Cyber Monoculture Risk"

"Of course, monocultures are not often seen in nature. The reason is obvious—when they occur naturally, the herd usually dies out. ... In the cyber world, by contrast, enterprises love monocultures. Every company in America (or almost every one) is a nearly pure information technology (IT) monoculture."

#GitHub #Slack #Discord #OpenSource #FreeSoftware

https://www.lawfareblog.com/cyber-monoculture-risk

Cool cool, @Gargron moving all @Mastodon project discussion behind a proprietary walled garden that requires agreement with Microsoft terms of service (and their analytics tracking). Now THAT makes a ton of sense. 🤦‍♂️

#MastoAdmin #Mastodon #OpenSource #FreeSoftware #FLOSS #privacy

https://discourse.joinmastodon.org/t/we-are-moving-to-github-discussions/4010

A new episode of EFF's "How to Fix the Internet" podcast has dropped, and focuses on #FreeSoftware with the always-insightful @jamesvasile.

Listen to "The Revolution Will Be #OpenSource" via the Internet Archive:

https://archive.org/details/htfti-s2e2-james-vasile-mix-vfinal

#FLOSS #FOSS

Has anyone working on #FreeSoftware ever seen an MIT License with a mandatory arbitration clause?

https://github.com/opengovsg/FormSG/blob/develop/LICENSE.md

#FLOSS #OpenSource

Hi folks. Just a note for those interested that I have resigned my day job at the United Nations Foundation.

I am looking forward to continue my work as a champion for #FreeSoftware & digital rights, particularly for humanitarian causes, international development, and peacemaking.

For now I'm eager to spend some time over the year-end holidays and do some reading and learning about the best initiatives out there.

(And of course continuing to help serve the delightful floss.social community!)

Has anyone #onhere spent time thinking about the #circularEconomy concept and #FreeSoftware / #OpenSource / #FLOSS?

I have some ideas and concepts that I'd like to try to (in)validate.

I just became a monthly supporter of @fsfe in response to yet another attack by Daniel Pocock on #FreeSoftware organizations doing good work for the movement (not only #FSFE but also #Debian).

He has a long documented history of harvesting and abusing email addresses for his own personal vendettas; so this latest one with the #RMS GitHub repos is nothing new.

https://github.com/rms-support-letter/rms-support-letter.github.io/issues/6450

#Licenses are the thing that liberate software, so it's important to learn how to use them correctly. A great intro lesson from @vmbrasseur here:

https://www.fosslife.org/how-apply-license-your-open-source-project

#OpenSource #FreeSoftware