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Braw :blob_cat_melt: 🏳‍🌈

‘Open source should not be about politics.’

MY DUDE. OPEN SOURCE IS LITERALLY POLITICS.

2 comments
Dr. Quadragon ❌

@brawaru Free software (or FOSS, for a wider umbrella) but yeah.

The decision to give up part of your rights as an author and distribute something as free software is a decision to either subvert (copyleft) or completely ignore (permissive licensing) the established copyright institutions in the interest of changing the way people live and do stuff. This is, in itself, a political decision. It has to do with rights, and power, and interests of individuals and groups (and even classes) of people.

And the collective of people making the same political decision is the definition of a political movement.

I just don't see how it's supposed to be "not about politics". Not *all* politics is our concern, that is true. But "being apolitical" is almost always a lie.

@brawaru Free software (or FOSS, for a wider umbrella) but yeah.

The decision to give up part of your rights as an author and distribute something as free software is a decision to either subvert (copyleft) or completely ignore (permissive licensing) the established copyright institutions in the interest of changing the way people live and do stuff. This is, in itself, a political decision. It has to do with rights, and power, and interests of individuals and groups (and even classes) of people.

Григорий Клюшников

What he meant is "politics" in traditional sense. People in suits that we pay taxes to deciding how we should live, that stuff. And with that, I absolutely agree. Open-source projects *should* be apolitical in that sense. Code is code, it doesn't care about borders or human rights or other political matters. In particular, writing "I stand with Ukraine" all over your readme won't help anyone achieve anything because this war isn't fought on the internet. No ordinary person has any semblance of real agency here unless they want to seriously risk their lives. I like to call this "homeopathic activism" because it has about as much effect in practice.

What he meant is "politics" in traditional sense. People in suits that we pay taxes to deciding how we should live, that stuff. And with that, I absolutely agree. Open-source projects *should* be apolitical in that sense. Code is code, it doesn't care about borders or human rights or other political matters. In particular, writing "I stand with Ukraine" all over your readme won't help anyone achieve anything because this war isn't fought on the internet. No ordinary person has any semblance of real...

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