[FC-discuss] Free Software and Free Culture

[Seth Johnson]

How have free software advocates *not* "switched" to free culture?


Seth Johnson



John Sullivan wrote:
> 
> Mike Linksvayer <ml at creativecommons.org> writes:
> 
> > On Tue, 2007-05-29 at 16:15 +0000, Free Culture blog wrote:
> >> FreeCulture.org and the students of the United
> >> States have a golden opportunity to set an example here, by switching to
> >> using only Free Software.
> >
> > Free Software advocates and pensioners of the EU have a platinum
> > opportunity to lead by example, switching to consuming only Free
> > Culture.
> >
> > Facetiousness aside, why should the onus only be on free culture
> > advocates to switch to free software and not vice versa?
> >
> 
> A fair point, but maybe not quite equivalent.
> 
> People who make free art that requires nonfree software to appreciate/modify
> are directly inviting people to get involved in a nonfree world. They are
> distributing art that depends on nonfree software for its audience of potential
> contributors.
> 
> People who advocate for free software but go to MPAA movies are certainly
> encouraging nonfree culture in other ways, but not the same way. Free software
> does not depend on nonfree culture for its audience of potential contributors.
> I can think of ways in which it could, but the vast majority does not.
> 
> This is a more specific version of the point that free culture advocates should
> use free software. I do think it would be great if we'd all use free software
> applications for email and browsing the web, but I think it's even more
> important to think about the nonfree dependencies of the free art being
> produced.
> 
> This is the point I was trying to make at the conference, in comparing the
> situation to the Trap Formerly Known as Java
> (http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/java-trap.html).
> 
> Perhaps we need an exchange program. I could commit to a moratorium on my
> (rather minimal) economic support of nonfree culture and a corresponding
> increase in my economic support of free culture if an artist who currently
> produces free works that require nonfree software tools to view or modify will
> commit to making art that does not have such a requirement ;).
> 
> (I do understand that sometimes art has to be made using whatever tools are
> available. I'm talking about cases when the artist has the ability to choose a
> free tool.)
> 
> --
> -John Sullivan
> -http://www.wjsullivan.net
> -GPG Key: AE8600B6
> 
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