Forwarding mail from Vihan in verbatim..
Anurag
Subject: Important : RMS mistreated during ATI protest
Date: Mon, 8 May 2006 12:43:16 +0530
From: "Vihan Pandey" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Return-path: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Anurag Patel" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Hi Anurag!
Long time how have you been ? i wanted a favour. i wanted to
send a mail on the ilug-bom mailing list but it got rejected because it was
too big. It's an important mail if you could please send it across i would
be very grateful.
Regards,
- vihan
The mail :
Hello everyone,
i know its been a VERY long time since i last mailed,
but here i am now - back again.
This news is little over a month old and there may be those of you who may
already know. However for those who don't please read this link :
http://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/rms-ati-protest.html
ATI has consistently disregarded making their drivers and other software
Free Software. Releasing a GNU/Linux driver for some video cards that too
under proprietary terms is NOT the solution. This incident clearly proves
that if we don't start taking our freedom seriously, Huxley's "Brave New
World" is right around the corner. It also shows that it takes courage to d=
o
the right thing, stand up for what you believe in fight injustice in every
way possible. i know this sounds clich=E9 but let's face it the way things =
are
going - companies(especially hardware one's) are becoming more and more
restrictive regarding their products, as technology becomes more complex it
will become harder and harder for hackers to figure out.
There's no doubt that people will find walk around's or even
break any restrictions imposed. But prevention IS better than cure, we have
to take this issue at a social level and treat it seriously. The Free
Software movement has been a beacon of inspiration in this light where
other's have chosen to stay silent or less vocal. Nagrajuna's mail "OSS
Philosophy Explained" makes absolute sense in this context. i saw the
responses to it by the OSS community.
Russ Nelson wrote that "Richard appeals to intellectuals by
advocating for the concept of freedom. Intellectuals constitute a minority,
say 10% of the population. We appeal to the majority by advocating for the
value of freedom. The other 90% of the population whom Richard cannot reach
will be convinced by the experience of freedom rather than the concept of
freedom."(see :
http://mm.ilug-bom.org.in/pipermail/linuxers/Week-of-Mon-20060424/025576.ht=
ml).
However understanding a concept is the 1st step actually realizing a truth.
If you mearly "experience" without knowing or acknowledging you simply take
things for granted and that is something what the majority of people
actually do. The folly is when this happens, people don't care about that
concept(in this case the concept being FREEDOM) and are happy in their
"experience". However when the "experience" is lost or threatened by "Big
Brother" they feel the pinch and thus it becomes important to educate and
talk about it. Which is EXACTLY what the Free Software movement proactively
does. Isn't it therefore prudent to start acknowledging the concept NOW
rather than until its too late ?
Michael Tiemann very eloquently wrote "The OSI chose to create a tent
larger than the free software tent. We accepted non-free
licenses because we wanted to give voice to people writing software
and sharing source code who did so for reasons other than moral
freedom. Is it wrong to accept works that strive for technical
excellence independent of social agendas? As a scientist and an
engineer
(BS CSE, University of Pennsylvania 1986) I have to say no:the
scientific method is, and must be independent from all moral
frameworks.
Does this make science immoral or amoral? Certainly there are those
who apply or ignore science in immoral ways. But science itself is
concerned with evidence and falsification, not morals. Open Source
allows for software to be independent from freedom, while at the
same time offering the kind of freedom that comes from independence"
(see: http://mm.ilug-bom.org.in/pipermail/linuxers/Week-of-Mon-20060424/025=
560.html
). True people do share code for reasons other
moral ones, however the problem arises when society at large follows
this trend then we tend to ignore the value of morals themselves -
and the resulting society becomes a living embodiment of cayoss. i
agree with the scientific method and approach of "evidence and
falsification" but scientific method is a function of scientific
conduct and more importantly of scientific ethics. These "moral"
grounds are
VERY clearly defined for study, research, experiment and process.
Therefore are morals not a part of science altogether and wouldn't
following them be consistent with scientific method ?
Don't get me wrong, i have a lot of respect for many people in
the Open Source community i also acknowledge they have given us a lot of
great software and licensed it GPL. They have even brought GNU/Linux to a
number of places, however i do not agree with their philosophy that ignorin=
g
the value system of freedom and morals for the sake of "catering to the
masses" or "increasing user base"
is the way to go.
Going back to the original topic i think we ought send ATI a
piece of our mind. i suggest each person send a mail to their Public
Relations department. Its located here :
http://www.ati.com/companyinfo/contact/index.html Goto the "Media Inquires"
link.
A basic truth about life is that if you want the right to be
free you have to be willing to pay the price for it - what ever costs.
History has taught us that. History has also taught us what happens when we
forget about freedom, morals, ethics and their value systems. WE are
responsible for the society we live in, therefore we also have to
acknowledge the consequences of our actions when we choose to ignore
something. If we want to live in a society that is free we have to respect
that ideal.
"Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary
Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety"
- BENJAMIN FRANKLIN(17th January, 1706 - 17th April, 1790)*
*Regards,
- vihan
--
__ __
gnu /noo/ n. Ox like antelope; (abbr.) /gnoo/ n.
(recursive acronym) Gnu's Not Unix.
--
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