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Re: [fsfc-discuss] "FSF Canada"


From: Russell McOrmond
Subject: Re: [fsfc-discuss] "FSF Canada"
Date: Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:14:11 -0500
User-agent: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64; rv:10.0.2) Gecko/20120216 Thunderbird/10.0.2


On 12-02-20 01:44 PM, Richard Stallman wrote:
    Programmers can't work in handcuffs.

could be a good slogan.  But we need one involving users too,
and that's not so much about "working".

I guess from a policy point of view I don't see there as being as big distinction as you are making between programmers and users of existing programs.


A software developer can make choices about individual instructions that a computer will follow, assembling those instructions together in a program.

A software user can make choices about groups of instructions in the form of a completed program.


Both rely on the ability of the owner of a computer being able to make their own software choices in order to be able to instruct their computers (directly as a programmer, indirectly as a user of someone elses program) to perform whatever lawful task they may wish to put their computer to.

Anything that prohibits the owner from making their own software choices harms all technology owners. This is true if they are a creator of copyrighted works (composer/writer, performer, maker of sound/motion recordings, whatever) trying to use their computer to record/edit/communicate works where they are the copyright holder, or if they are the audience of those works. All these people are dependent on being able to make their own software choices in order to use computers for what they want them to do, rather than what someone else wants to allow them to do.

Whether you are a "creator" or a "user" of copyrighted works, you are an "owner" of a computer where you and not third parties must be able to make your own independent software choice.

--
 Russell McOrmond, Internet Consultant: <http://www.flora.ca/>
 Please help us tell the Canadian Parliament to protect our property
 rights as owners of Information Technology. Sign the petition!
 http://l.c11.ca/ict

 "The government, lobbied by legacy copyright holders and hardware
  manufacturers, can pry my camcorder, computer, home theatre, or
  portable media player from my cold dead hands!"



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