Kevin Driscoll <[email protected]> writes: >> "Matthew Z" <[email protected]> writes: >> >>> http://www.metamute.org/en/Change-of-the-Century-Free-Software-and-the-Positive-Possibility
Wow. I usually try hard to avoid such directly negative statements in public forums, but... I'm sorry, I just can't find a single positive thing to say about that article. It's awful. It's a difficult feat to be wrong conceptually, factually, *and* stylistically, but the author has managed it. Inasmuch as I can make out what the article is trying to say, it appears to largely misunderstand its topic. If one cannot see the fundamental importance of a mode of production in which labor cannot be alienated from the fruits of its work, then one cannot understand the significance of the free software movement. (Viz: "The focus on freedom in FLOSS does not concern, and even denies production and labour.") I couldn't finish it. I have a certain number of minutes left on this Earth, and I'd rather spend them doing almost anything else. -Karl >>> If anyone has read this, I would love to hear some thoughts (especially from >>> those ironic apologists who support notions of "free culture" as guided by >>> capital). >> >> The author spends so many words on sneering and scare-quoted terms that >> whatever point was being made is lost in the turgid wall of text. >> >> It appears to be little more than an avalanche of assertions and >> accusations and strained metaphor, with no clear indication why the >> reader should take any notice. I recommend the author take a course in >> clear composition and writing. > > >The decision to write in this style is as mystifying as the writing >itself. That said, I found at least one intriguing idea in here for us >to consider. > >The FSF refers to the GPL as a "clever hack." Hardie argues that >because the license depends on a functioning copyright regime, it can >not fundamentally challenge or transform U.S. copyright law nor the >ideology it reflects. Furthermore, because of the transnational >circulation of software via the internet, the "clever hack" may >actually assist in the establishment of a compatible copyright regimes >in other nations. > >My takeaway from the essay is probably not novel to anyone on here: >that the promises of free culture require more fundamental change than >simply porting free software's "hack." Part of why Creative Commons is >an important tool (a means) but not an end? > >Kevin > >PS. To be fair to Hardie, there's a sizable population of people who >really enjoy digging into this kind of writing. Steven Johnson wrote a >funny little memoir about it in NYT a few weeks ago: >http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/16/books/review/i-was-an-under-age-semiotician.html >_______________________________________________ >Discuss mailing list >[email protected] >http://lists.freeculture.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss >FAQ: http://wiki.freeculture.org/Fc-discuss _______________________________________________ Discuss mailing list [email protected] http://lists.freeculture.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss FAQ: http://wiki.freeculture.org/Fc-discuss
