[email protected] wrote .. > > When I'm having a bad time because there's no food around, or I'm > > struggling to avoid using the computers, nobody understands me. > > Sorry, I don't understand what you mean.
Often times, avoiding proprietary software comes to a point of avoiding computers altogether for that task. When I bring this up, people don't understand, and they get irritated because I'm inconveniencing them. When I said "because there's no food," I mean that there are a few restaurants that just have zero vegan options, not even a plain potato with a salad. Not even French fries an a salad. > > I want to do this, but it's hard to do because we live far away and > > don't have much gas money to spare. > > I don't even own a car. I ride a bike everywhere. Perhaps you should consider > investing in a bike as well, even if you don't use it for every excursion. It > can save you quite a lot of money. :) You don't know how far away everything is. Biking it would be very difficult. There isn't even a gas station or grocery store in my town. All East Lynne, MO has is a bar, a post office, a city hall, a school, and a church. A huge amount of farm land separates me from basic services like a hospital, the grocery store, or a gas station. > > I only bring it up when it's necessary, like > > someone asks to do something with me that involves technology. I say, > > "I don't do that. Could we please do X instead?" > > This sounds like you pushing your personal preferences. It's inflexible and > uncooperative. You need to learn to give in to what others want, not insist > on only what you want. I do make compromises! If someone wants to do something I don't want to do, but I can make it work without using computers or proprietary software, then I'll do it. When someone asks me to use Netflix, I tell them I'd be glad to watch the thing they want to watch, no matter how uninterested I am. I insist on finding a torrent for them and downloading it first, though. I've also done lots of research to figure out how to stream anime without DRM or proprietary software. And I torrent several things in advance so they don't have to wait on a torrent download. It's just right there, ready to watch. Moreover, don't concern yourself with what others are > doing with their computers. That's their own choice. Yes, I know. I do not concern myself with which OS or browser they use, or which games they play, or which chat programs they use. That's their business, and I don't tell them what to do. However, if they want to do something with me using computers, their programs will have to support standard protocols that I can interoperate with. Google's instant messenger used to do this. > If they want to watch a movie on Netflix, join them! If someone wants to watch a movie with me and play it using their proprietary video player, I will gladly do so without any hesitation. However, DRM streaming is way more serious than that. When you watch Netflix, you are not just forfeiting your own rights. You're directly contributing to the market pressure that will make Fair Use a thing of the past. If everything starts to become a Netflix Original, sound bites and movie clips will cease to exist. > When going to the gaming group I mentioned, one > of the games a friend likes to play is a proprietary, DRM-encumbered game on > his tablet. I've pointed out how absurd the DRM system is (it limits the > number of players to a smaller number unless you connect to the Internet), > but I don't tell them that I refuse to play. I play with them and have a good > time. You have to choose your battles. I do not bother people with a large, complicated philosophy that takes lots of study to understand. I do my best to nonchalently avoid the issue without saying a thing. The most I say on the issue is that I don't do things "for very important personal reasons." If they already know I use GNU/Linux and free software, though, they sort of catch on and start saying "ohh, you won't use it because it's not OPEN SOURCE, waaaa". > If the only things they like to do would require you to run proprietary > software on your computer, then obviously that won't work. But most people > engage in activities that aren't proprietary online multiplayer games. Yeah. With those people, I'm able to casually make computers irrelevant to the activity by choosing whichever activity presented to me (by them!) that involves computers the least.
