The role of Free Software in a world that doesn't care
14th October 2016
The Free
Software movement is about personal and social
liberties. Giving the owner and user of a computer control
over it. But most people don't see the problem with a small
number of multinational mega-corporations having control over
everyone's computers. They think: “Apple and Microsoft know
what they're doing, and they do a good job, so why would I
need Free Software?”
Accepting that most people reject the Free Software message,
what can the Free Software movement contribute to the world?
The Free Software community can educate people that it's
possible for things to be different. That it's possible for
software to be individually or community developed. That
the code needn't be kept secret from the users. That
software is not magic, but scripting that can be
understood. There is no advantage of being ignorant so this
is a message for everyone.
If someone becomes disillusioned with the proprietary
platforms they are using, or finds that the proprietary
software industry is not catering for their specific needs,
the Free Software community is there for them. The community
writes Free Software and supports people who want to learn
it.
The Free Software community, and the Free Software
foundations
[EU, US],
critique the proprietary software companies. This helps
protect even users of proprietary software. If a proprietary
software company violates their user's rights, articles will
be written and awareness campaigns will be run. If they try
to lobby through some legislation or trade agreements that
harms computer user's rights, comments will be submitted to
legislators and petitions will be arranged.
So, I
think Free
Software is truly there for everyone, even people who do
not use or care about it. And I think that the Free Software
movement will be an ever-important guardian of the people's
rights as we move into an extensively computerised future.