Unforgettable National Conference on Free Software!
Unforgettable National Conference on Free Software!
2008-11-17T04:26:56
This is what made the event unforgettable: Boycott Novell protesters man-handled Friendly Boycott Novell protesters robbed of voice
sajith
Mon Nov 17 08:42:08 2008
There are different emotion-fueled versions of the same story flying around in the lists. Other than that getting physical about differences of opinion is a very bad thing, I can't seem to think clearly either! I do not think anyone is being completely, black and white sort of, evil here; but that very well could be naive thinking. That is to say that I'm curious to know what you think about this. :-) PS. Too small a text box! Is it intentional? :-)
Sreejith K
Mon Nov 17 09:47:02 2008
Its a shame.... Why did the Organizers approach the controversial Novell as a sponsor of a "Free" Software Conference, if they clearly understand the REAL meaning of "FREEDOM" ?
Pramode C.E
Wed Nov 19 15:33:12 2008
Relax, dear Philip.... don't let the sound and the fury on the mailing lists and blogs bewilder you ... take my word - your worries are unfounded. Most of the time, the Free Software community is tackling issues which are of vital importance to the emerging information society - and making good progress --- come to the next conference on Free Software in Tvm (in Dec) and you will understand how.
Philip
Wed Nov 19 11:48:22 2008
Dear Pramode Sir, I went through some of the material on the web (blogs and mailing list entries) regarding this issue. One thing that struck me was that many of those who posted on the subject sounded like the fundamentalist followers of a religion where Microsoft = Satan Anybody who associates with Microsoft = Infidels and heretics RMS = The Prophet , with a religious passion that befits a votary of an Inquisition [1], rather than a votary of freedom. [2] is a particularly striking example. This latter reminds me of my college days, when leaders of students' political parties would self-righteously, and in full earnesty, condemn the Police who lathi-charged students who were peacefully stoning buses. Is it the case that one has to hate Microsoft from one's guts to be accepted as a free/swatantra/libre software supporter/activist by the community in India? More specifically, would such a view as the following be instantly recognised as heresy by the community? "I don't buy or promote the use of Microsoft products on principle, because I am opposed to their historical and continuing tactics of trying to stifle the rise of free software. In particular, I try to choose non-Microsoft data formats when I have to send files to people : PDF instead of Word, for example. However, I do /not/ believe that every piece of software that Microsoft produces is bad. For example, I think Windows XP is much better than Windows Vista (note that this would not be possible if I thought everything from Microsoft was just bad), and I think Microsoft Excel is a good product. In general, if you give me a software product or development platform X and ask me to try it out and tell me whether it is good, I believe my answer will be the same irrespective of whether X was produced by Microsoft or not." Has the free software evangelism in India resulted in a bunch of people who judge everything by whether its label says "Microsoft/Novell/..."? More alarmingly, has it engendered a religion, with its share of zealots, who condemn everything that is associated with The Great Satan? And to think that we have a tradition that does not suppress the good qualities of Ravana -- poems attributed to him are preserved, for example [3]. Regards, Philip [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inquisition [2] http://mm.gnu.org.in/pipermail/fsf-friends/2008-November/005691.html [3] http://www.celextel.org/stotrasshiva/shivathandavastotram.html
Pramode C.E
Tue Nov 18 16:35:16 2008
Dear Anonymous (and other friends): I have a suggestion. We are still a small community - and most of us know each other (at least through mailing lists). Why not have a meeting (in person) to sort out the misunderstanding - I am sure there has been too much of Noise (rather than signal) on the lists; get together, have a cup of tea, talk to each other and I am sure all our fears and misunderstandings will soon vanish into thin air. We owe this to the spirit of GNU, and the community at large.
Tue Nov 18 10:29:49 2008
the post by Arum M was replied to out of thread, the same can be seen here: http://mm.gnu.org.in/pipermail/fsf-friends/2008-November/005653.html this thread then further proceeds with discussions on the same. I understand that reports that police force was used to remove him were taken back. Everything is not in black and white, people who are adamant to see thus are free to do so! Atul chitnis is going ahead with the developer = community gamble, will someone paste posters *across* the venue to protest this. The next time google sponsors a community event, will someone paste posters *across* venue to protest this(considering RMS concerns on cloud computing). An internet search with "Anivar Aravind CPIM" will show his political stands with respect to CPIM. In a democracy everyone is free to have political agendas or political affiliations and oppositions. If I say that the extent to which Anivar went with the way the protest was organized and planned has an element of Anti-CPIM inspirations to it, I think it would not the 100% wrong. Like I were saying, everything is not black and white. If possible please don't see them thus.
Pramode C.E
Tue Nov 18 01:05:48 2008
Check out: http://mm.gnu.org.in/pipermail/fsf-friends/2008-November/005649.html That's the story.
Anish Bhaskaran
Mon Nov 17 21:10:21 2008
+1 i am too confused and look forward to your comments. :)
Mon Nov 17 15:56:47 2008
It is very easy to comment and be an expert if you are partially aware about the facts. Have you even considered the possibility that customers might need interoperability rather than confusion. Face it folks.. the world is not going to change overnight... there has to be a transition phase. Novell is helping customers through the transition phase helping them to comfortably deploy Linux and Open Office which is supported at enterprise standards