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PRAGMATIC USE OF NONFREE SOFTFWrAeReE(S7o)ftware CPoRmAmGuMnAiTtIyC USE OF NONFREE SOFTWARE(7)
AABBSSTTRRAACCTT
Free Software is undoubtably a good thing for society. However, modern
computer users are stuck in the proprietary "ecosystem" for historical
reasons. This document describes the author's viewpoint of using pro-
prietary platforms to spread the ideas of Free Software.
SSTTAATTUUSS OOFF TTHHIISS MMEEMMOO
This document is currently in the DRAFT status.
This document describes the author's viewpoint. This does not repre-
sent the ideas of the Free Software Foundation or any other entity.
Distribution of this memo is unlimited.
IINNTTRROODDUUCCTTIIOONN
Readers of this memo probably understand the ideals of the Free Soft-
ware Movement, and avoid proprietary software when possible. However,
as most outsiders are unaware and are deeply buried inside the propri-
etary dystopia created by mostly multibillion-dollar technology coorpo-
rations, our methods of communicating with the masses are ineffective.
In February 2022, the author decided to adjust his dogma, and permitted
limited usage of nonfree chat platforms to hopefully spread our ideas
to the general public. This was attempted by registering a Discord ac-
count, creating a Guild called "Free Software Introductions", and set-
ting up a basic Discord-to-IRC relay to #fsi on both irc.andrewyu.org
and irc.libera.chat.
One of the communities that he knows about, the VF-Technic Minetest
community, primarily uses Discord as a means of communication by plays
not in-game. As the users inside are Minetest players, a Free Software
voxel sandbox game, similar to but much more flexible and freedom-re-
specting than Minecraft, it is believed that the users have some con-
tact with Free Software, although they might not understand the freedom
part of the issue, i.e. they might be thinking in terms of "open
source" instead. After sharing the invite link in the VF-Technic
Guild, some people joined, and we've partially converted two users.
JJUUSSTTIIFFIICCAATTIIOONN
Two users is definitely few, but it sets a start and an example for how
freedom can be spread.
There are numerous free replacements to proprietary services such as
Discord, such as Internet Relay Chat, the Extensible Messaging and Pre-
sense Protocol, the Matrix protocol, and email. As Free Software ac-
tivists, we generally prefer these protocols over nonfree services.
This section explains the reasons to consider nonfree services and pro-
tocols.
Generally, users on IRC and XMPP have a fair understanding of the Free
Software Movement, and it is quick and easy to inform them what we mean
by "free", "the four freedoms", and similar ideas. For users on the
Libera Chat IRC network, which by far has the most users of any net-
work, it is exceptionally easy to introduce a user into the #fsf chan-
nel for discussions with people supporting Free Software. Introducing
ignorant users on these protocols and platforms are a day-to-day simple
task.
Furthermore, the amount of users we can reach on these protocols are
rather limiting. Libera has around forty thousand users according to
the UUSSEERRSS command, and considering the fact that around 90% of these
people aren't ignorant, there isn't much we can do.
Matrix users, in particular users of the matrix.org homeserver, typi-
cally know but don't completely understand Free Software. Rather than
using Matrix IDs to identify users, the Matrix specification specifies
that third-party platform identities, such as email and GitHub, are how
users should be referenced both internally by servers and shown to
other users. This is obviously an increadibly foolish idea, especially
considering the use of centralized identity servers (similar to X509
certificate authorities) for 3PIDs. These are our first targets, but
these should also be easy to get the idea across.
It is true that Libera Chat and similar IRC networks, though multi-cen-
tered in a technical way (i.e. multiple IRC servers form an IRC net-
work), the network is politically centralized, controlled by one en-
tity, Libera. The Internet Relay Chat server-to-server protocol im-
plies that servers fully trust each other and are expected to not send
damaging commands, which in turn implies full trust between server op-
erators, no federation, and political centralization. The privacy pol-
icy and network policy of Libera Chat are in the author's opinion non-
intrusive, therefore the use of which is acceptable and is promoted by
the FSF. (Obviously, most methods of using IRC do not involve nonfree
software.)
Nevertheless, those that have never touched Free Software are often on
giant proprietary platforms, and take these as universal methods of
communication. Many people go months before checking their mailbox
(physical or electronic), refuse to use XMPP or IRC for its age.
An alternative protocol, Internet Delay Chat, is being developed.
There is one special case where using some nonfree software, and even
urging others to use it, can be a positive thing. That's when the use
of the nonfree software aims directly at putting an end to the use of
that very same nonfree software.[RMSGP] The author believes that the
following fall within this scope:
+o Developing a free project that requires nonfree environments to
bootstrap;
+o To spread awareness of software freedom issues to users in nonfree
environments.
As almost all types of development can be done on most types of BSD and
GNU operating systems, the author hasn't found any software that fit
this category. Extending the interpretation allos for using nonfree
software's behavior as a reference in Free Software development, though
an arguable programming practice, may help the community to progress by
understanding common features that users of nonfree services use.
The latter is more interesting, as explained above our methods of
spreading awareness is limited.
AACCTTIIOONN PPRROOCCEEDDUURREE
Activists MMUUSSTT NNOOTT list such nonfree services in "Contact Information"
pages on their website or similar sources, unless followed by a expla-
nation that the purpose of the nonfree platform is to introduce users
thereof onto free protocols and to eventually exterminate the nonfree
platform. Whenever these references to nonfree platforms appear, the
author MMUUSSTT present free methods of communication. Activists SSHHOOUULLDD
pragmatically use as many of the popular free protocols as possible, to
ensure that oppurtunities of introductions are not lost. In cases in-
volving competition between free and nonfree protocols and platforms,
ethical concerns (i.e. enabling talking to a new user on any ethical
platform) MMUUSSTT take precedence over technical concerns (such as dislik-
ing the XMPP protocol for its inefficent use of XML) whenever possible.
Communities for introducing users to Free Software on nonfree platforms
MMUUSSTT be bridged to a free protocol in some obvious way, in order to
minimize the usage of nonfree platforms even for the purpose of commu-
nicating ideology to new users and allow members of the Free Software
community refusing to use nonfree platforms in any way to participate.
Usages of nonfree platforms, besides part of the user-introduction
process that must happen on the nonfree platform, SSHHOOUULLDD be avoided.
For example, the author created a Discord Guild called Free Software
Introductions, which is one-way-puppeted to #fsi on irc.andrewyu.org,
which is then one-way-puppeted to Libera. The relay system is sort-of
messed up, but it's working. Inviting new users to it via https://dis-
cord.gg/7CYp7ntww7 <https://discord.gg/7CYp7ntww7> is good, but as the
author has made his own sacrifice already, there exists no need for
other existing Free Software activists to join and use it instead of
IRC.
TTEECCHHNNIICCAALL LLIIMMIITTAATTIIOONNSS
The old and centralized nature of IRC, the insane 3PID recommendation
of Matrix, the bad routing and efficency of XMPP, and the lack of docu-
mentation on PSYC, has led us to develop a new protocol, Internet Delay
Chat[IDC], which aims to be free, modern (i.e. support for channel
groups and shared permission sets, non-text data with MIME types), sane
(i.e. TCP, UDP and SCTP-based, instead of HTTP POST APIs) and simple.
CCOONNCCLLUUSSIIOONN
FFSSFF CCOONNSSIIDDEERRAATTIIOONNSS
BBIIBBLLIIOOGGRRAAPPHHYY
[IDC] Andrew Yu The Second School Affiliated to Fudan University In-
ternet Delay Chat <https://git.andrewyu.org/internet-delay-
chat>2022
[RMSGP]
Richard Stallman The GNU Project Is It Ever a Good Thing to Use
a Nonfree Program? <http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/is-ever-good-
use-nonfree-program.en.html>2013
AACCKKNNOOWWLLEEDDGGEEMMEENNTTSS
CCOONNTTRRIIBBUUTTOORRSS
AAUUTTHHOORRSS
Written by Andrew Yu.
Free Software April 202P2RAGMATIC USE OF NONFREE SOFTWARE(7)
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