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Alexandre Oliva
today the @fsf turns 39. it's been quite a ride for the most important organization in the history of the free software movement. despite numerous others organizations in this space, the FSF remains the lighthouse, the solid and stable reference point that enables us to navigate freely and safely to our destinations. a strong FSF forever needs a strong community of supporters for our cause. here are some ways you can help and show your support:
https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/fsf-turns-39
today the @fsf turns 39. it's been quite a ride for the most important organization in the history of the free software movement. despite numerous others organizations in this space, the FSF remains the lighthouse, the solid and stable reference point that enables us to navigate freely and safely to our destinations. a strong FSF forever needs a strong community of supporters for our cause. here are some ways you can help and show your support:
Alexandre Oliva
today we celebrate the 41st anniversary of the GNU operating system, that set out to develop an operating system that wouldn't deprive its users of freedom
but there's another 41st anniversary to celebrate today: that of the free software movement, the organized effort for the recognition of an essential human right, namely, that we should be entitled to understand and to modify the programs we use to do our computing just as we are entitled to freedom of thought and of expression; that we should be entitled to share and cooperate on those programs just as we are entitled to freedom of the press and of assembly; that we should be entitled, thus, to control our computing, instead of the alternative of being controlled by it; that programs that suppress or attempt to suppress these essential rights shouldn't exist, so that no users were ever tempted or forced to give up their essential freedoms and rights, and so that the cyberspace and all the users and developers could be free
we've come a long way in these 41 years, but we still have a long way to go. please join us and support our movement, our project, and the organizations that support them in the pursuit of these goals
today we celebrate the 41st anniversary of the GNU operating system, that set out to develop an operating system that wouldn't deprive its users of freedom
but there's another 41st anniversary to celebrate today: that of the free software movement, the organized effort for the recognition of an essential human right, namely, that we should be entitled to understand and to modify the programs we use to do our computing just as we are entitled to freedom...
Alexandre Oliva
I'm growing worried with fediverse trends that, rather than freedom (control over one's own life), promote power (control over others' lives).
I've long been uncomfortable with deletion/edits, that effectively mess with my ability to treat and archive my past feed and use it as reliable memory. being unable to save it elsewhere, to be able to search it or refer to it later, or being regarded as cheating or abusing the system merely to preserve my own memory, seems power over myself that I'd rather not grant others. I'd much rather deletions, edits and whatnot, of posts I've seen before, be visible and advisory, not an Amazon's 1984 book-burning move.
likewise, enabling me to control who can respond to my posts seems to place too much authority on one party, and grant me power over others that I don't deserve. I can understand my not wanting to *see* their responses, but blocking them from responding seems outrageous. why do I get to decide what others get to do? why don't they get to decide it, or have a say? why don't my followers, or theirs? that seems to lead towards authoritarian control and isolated bubbles, rather than to respectful and rich cross-polination of ideas.
to those concerned about abuse, enabling posters to prevent responses from abusers would also enable abusers to prevent reactions from victims and their supporters.
what am I missing?
I'm growing worried with fediverse trends that, rather than freedom (control over one's own life), promote power (control over others' lives).
I've long been uncomfortable with deletion/edits, that effectively mess with my ability to treat and archive my past feed and use it as reliable memory. being unable to save it elsewhere, to be able to search it or refer to it later, or being regarded as cheating or abusing the system merely to preserve my...
w96k

@lxo

Not so related to your post, but I stopped to like fediverse idea, because client-server architecture. It looks to me like fedi is more about internet feudalism than connecting people. It's often no difference if you grant your data to commerce guys or random guys on the internet, anyway someone controls your data and can ban you, do whatever admins want. The idea of fediblock is wrong to me, because it abuses such admin power (even if it does it in a "good" way). P2P is better.

Alexandre Oliva
Wheee, tonight I'm flying out to the US to speak about software enshittification and how to fight it at LibrePlanet @fsf
https://libreplanet.org/2024/speakers#6621
https://www.fsfla.org/~lxoliva/#Unshittify
Alexandre Oliva
.oO the bank I sued for demanding me to install malware lost
https://www.fsfla.org/anuncio/2023-04-bancarrota.en.html
they told the judge they were in compliance with the court order to stop requiring malware, while admitting to still requiring it
today, in celebration of GNU 40th, my lawyer is initiating the procedures for the bank to pay the fines imposed by the judge so far, denouncing the bank’s contradiction. I hope it doesn’t take another 40y for me to get internet banking in freedom
.oO the bank I sued for demanding me to install malware lost
https://www.fsfla.org/anuncio/2023-04-bancarrota.en.html
they told the judge they were in compliance with the court order to stop requiring malware, while admitting to still requiring it
Alexandre Oliva
wheee... it's already Sept 27 where the founder of GNU is currently located. this means we can already start celebrating GNU's 40-year anniversary! happy birthday to GNU, and may you all receive the gift of software freedom! bring on the next 40 years!
Alexandre Oliva
.oO the sad thing about debian's ongoing vote is not that the question "should we help hardware builders screw users who don't know better?" is debated, it's that the votable answers are "yes", "harder" and "with moderation". 'for freedom and users' much?
Alexandre Oliva
.oO what a beautiful set of studies on the correlation between overconfidence about one's knowledge and rejection of scientific consensus
https://web.archive.org/web/20220814045020/https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abo0038
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