Discussion February 2009

discussion@lists.fsfe.org

22 participants
12 discussions

FSFE engages in the EU browser case
by Graeme West 25 Mar '09

25 Mar '09

Dear all, We at FSFE made the following announcement this afternoon: >Free Software Foundation Europe today announces that it will support the > European Commission's antitrust investigation against Microsoft and to this > effect it has formally requested to be admitted as an interested third > party. > >The investigation began on the 16th of January when the European Commission > DG Competition reported that it had issued a statement of objections > regarding Microsoft's abuse of web standards and the tying of Internet > Explorer (IE) to the Windows Operating System product family. It is based > on a complaint submitted by Opera, a European company involved in web > browser development, which FSFE publicly supported in 2007. > >FSFE considers anti-competitive behaviour unacceptable, whether it occurs > through 'tying' products, or in circumventing standards and fair access. > FSFE will seek to support all processes that ensure competition and enable > innovation. For the full details, see here: http://www.fsfeurope.org/news/2009/news-20090227-01.en.html Also, please vote for the story on FSDaily: http://www.fsdaily.com/Legal/Free_Software_Foundation_Europe_engages_in_the… Regards, -- Graeme West Intern, Zürich office Freedom Task Force Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) (http://fsfeurope.org) Join the Fellowship of FSFE! (http://fsfe.org/join) Your donation powers our work! (http://fsfeurope.org/donate)

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database of small chunks
by chrysn＠fsfe.org 22 Feb '09

22 Feb '09

for licensing of databases, i've stumbled upon a problem on which i hope you could help: related to the openmoko (a free cell phone) community, there is a game coming up called cellhunter [1], whose goal is to collect data of where gsm cells are located. players of the game have a program running on their phones and are awarded points for gps coordinates of places with signal strengths from gsm stations. the players uploading 9-tuples of integers is one side of the project, the other is a future database of cell ids and locations. the licensing of the database is still pending a decision, and it looks like it's going to be a cc-by-sa (-nc was once mentioned, but i think that's no longer an issue). is there anything particular to consider in such cases? i think i remember having read that the -by of the cc licenses can be troublesome with large numbers of contributors (think wikipedia, openstreetmap, although it probably won't be that many with cellhunter), but as the players don't really provide something of their own, would they count as contributors at all? i am aware this is not strictly a free software question, but at least related as the data might easily be shipped with software. regards chrysn [1] http://cellhunter.omoco.de/ -- To use raw power is to make yourself infinitely vulnerable to greater powers. -- Bene Gesserit axiom

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This is what a criminal looks like
by Andreas Tolf Tolfsen 18 Feb '09

18 Feb '09

The political party Red in Norway issued a press release earlier this morning, as a part of their new campaign "This is what a criminal looks like": <http://filesharer.org/> I'll quote briefly from the website: File-sharing is good, allowing people to share music, movies and culture. Today four of the pioneers of file-sharing are on trial in Sweden, in yet another attempt by the movie and music industries to stop technological innovation and development by force. But it is not the people behind the Pirate Bay who have shared files. It is us, the millions who use their site. They've got the wrong people. We won't go away even if the prosecution should win this case, nor will the technology disappear that lets us share the music and films we love. Let the music and movie industry know who the file-sharers are. The press release: – You cannot outlaw the future The Party Red (Rødt) of Norway closely follows the trial against the web site The Pirate Bay in Sweden, and whole-heartedly supports the file sharers. — This is about choosing the side of the future, thinks Elin Volder Rutle, Red's second candidate for Oslo in the upcoming parliamentary elections. — It is almost sad to witness how a desperate industry clings to it's millions, trying to blame its troubles on a handful of Swedes who have enabled file sharing for people, says Volder Rutle. The party Red has launched the campaign site filesharer.org, calling on everyone who shares files, and wants file sharing to be legal, to upload their pictures and show their support for The Pirate Bay. — File sharing is becoming one of our most important means of exchanging information. If the guys behind The Pirate Bay are criminals, the so am I and most other Norwegians, comments the Red politician. — That is what we want to show with this campaign. The industry has picked someone to blame, while everyone sees that the law is out of sync with reality. According to the law file sharing is criminal, but it is both impossible and meaningless to try to stop progress. — If you are going to punish all who share files, you need to start at A in the phone book, says Volder Rutle ironically. The party Red's second candidate thinks file sharing also has an important aspect not tied to the entertainment industry. — We live in an age when sharing information is easier than it has ever been before. Through file sharing scientists all over the world can cooperate on large research projects. We want intellectual achievements, information and knowledge to benefit the community by sharing it and developing it in common. The alternative is letting the few grow rich by controlling information that could could have benefited the great majority, Elin Volder Rutle says. — Run, industry leaders! The future is coming for you! ends a smiling Volder Rutle. For further comments or interviews, contact Elin Volder Rutle at +47 992 49 188 or Mimir Kristjansson at +47 932 69 961. Which can be found here, both in English and Norwegian (bokmål): <http://filesharer.org/you_cannot_outlaw_the_future> Best regards, -- Andreas Tolf Tolfsen <ato(a)fsfe.org>

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Re: pdfreaders.org feedback
by Stian Rødven Eide 06 Feb '09

06 Feb '09

Hi Michel On Thursday 05 February 2009 19:41:28 Michel Roche wrote: > there are a couple of issues I want to raise about the campaign that > comments made about the article I wrote on linuxfr.org arose to me. > > We are all agreeing that this campaign aims at targetting the average > user, informing him/her of the existence of Free/Libre software to > read PDF documents that aren't only Free/beer. > In this respect, we can assume that those people are mainly using > windows with few technological knowledge. > > - In the windows column of the pdfreaders.org page, the first offered > software is Okular. It seems that the KDE installer is not a bad > thing, but it leads to a complex operation for the user : two > softwares to install. OK there's a little note explaining it, but.. We have decided to tone down the Windows version of Okular until the installation process becomes much more intuitive for Windows users. I believe the most agreed upon suggestion so far is to colour "recommended" readers with a green background. > - If we take a look at the simpliest : Sumatra, you arrive in an also > complex page where just under the binary installer commes a zip with > the sources => if the user is reassured by the zip which may be less > scaring than the exe, he'll be downloading sources ! Hmm.. Maybe we could link directly to the exe instead. Are there reasons why we should not do that? > - And another big concern is that none of the related pages are > translated, so pdfreaders.org may do for english speaking people, but > will be a showstopper for all others ! Indeed. I'm also working on a page to explain PDF with regards to Open Standards, which will be the target of the first "Read more..." link on the front page. all the best, /Stian

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pdfreaders.org feedback
by Michel Roche 06 Feb '09

06 Feb '09

Hello, there are a couple of issues I want to raise about the campaign that comments made about the article I wrote on linuxfr.org arose to me. We are all agreeing that this campaign aims at targetting the average user, informing him/her of the existence of Free/Libre software to read PDF documents that aren't only Free/beer. In this respect, we can assume that those people are mainly using windows with few technological knowledge. - In the windows column of the pdfreaders.org page, the first offered software is Okular. It seems that the KDE installer is not a bad thing, but it leads to a complex operation for the user : two softwares to install. OK there's a little note explaining it, but.. - If we take a look at the simpliest : Sumatra, you arrive in an also complex page where just under the binary installer commes a zip with the sources => if the user is reassured by the zip which may be less scaring than the exe, he'll be downloading sources ! - And another big concern is that none of the related pages are translated, so pdfreaders.org may do for english speaking people, but will be a showstopper for all others ! Things we could do to bettern the campaign : - Present the software with a special first line with the simpliest ones to install, for each platform (win and mac) - get in touch with the site maintainers of the related projects to help them : - ease the presentation of their download page, maybe by making a new page "download for dumbs" - translate those pages ! Michel

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Re: CeBIT 2009 :: Volunteers wanted!
by Volker Dormeyer 05 Feb '09

05 Feb '09

Hello all, as you might already know, CeBIT 2009 will take place from 3rd to 8th of March in Hannover, Germany. The FSFE is going to have a booth, or at least a Demo-Point in the focal area of Free Software, this year. We are looking for volunteers who are willing and able to help us at the booth during the fair. I think it would be an opportunity for people interested in Free Software and the FSFE to get involved. Most of the time, we will talk to people to explain Free Software and sometimes answer general questions concerning licensing issues. Of course, the Fellowship, recent activities like pdfreaders.org and the OpenPGP Smartcard are going to be presented, as well. Please tell Guido Arnold (in cc) or myself if you are interested. At least 1-2 hours of your time would be highly appreciated. The latest status of our activities for CeBIT 2009 can be seen in the Fellowship Wiki [1]. Thanks and Regards, Volker [1] https://wiki.fsfe.org/Cebit-2009

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Re: Movements (was: Terminology (was: Please review our new charter))
by Alfred M. Szmidt 05 Feb '09

05 Feb '09

But I did not want to harp on that. We all agree that those are just few exceptions. All in all Free Software and Open Source accept almost the same licenses. That implies that a non-free software license is similar to a free software one, I do not see the similarity. The OSI accept freely non-free software licenses, whilst the FSF does not.

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Re: Movements (was: Terminology (was: Please review our new charter))
by Alfred M. Szmidt 05 Feb '09

05 Feb '09

I don't know of any license that's OSI-approved that isn't also FSF "free software". NASA Open Source Agreement is one example.

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Please review our new charter
by jamesmikedupont＠googlemail.com 05 Feb '09

05 Feb '09

Dear sirs, we have a new charter for our new Free Software, Open source and Wikimedia organization, The idea is to create a local organization that promotes and supports * free/libre software * open source * wikimedia * creative commons * open standards such as from the w3c in kosovo, which is so small that it does not make sense to have 10 different organizations. We are working on recruiting and training the young people of Kosovo to learn to use and help improve the great technologies that you people have produced. All people and all nations are invited and there will be no discrimination of any sort. We will invite the other organizations to appoint members to collaborate in our working groups to implement and promote our common goals in newborn Europe. We are working on creating the a large yearly conference in Pristina, Kosovo starting on August 28 this year, but with three dates : Prishtina August 28-30 2009 Developers Day(s) Ferizja Sept 4-6 2009 Education Day(s) Prishtina Trade Fair Sept 23-28 2009 Business Days(s) http://groups.google.com/group/free-software-conference/ please review and comment the charter, feel free to join are project and edit the wiki directly, or send your comments back to me so that I can incorporate them. http://code.google.com/p/sfck/wiki/CHARTER CHARTER Charter of Asociacioni per Softver te Lire dhe të Hapur (ASLH) * Articles of Association * §0 – Preamble * §1 – Name, Office, Nature * §2 – Definition of Terminology * §3 – Purpose of the Association * §4 – Activities of the Association * §5 – Membership * §6 – Assembly of Members * §7 – Meetings of the Assembly of Members * §8 – Board of Directors * §9 – Officers and Employees * §10 - Financing of the Association * §11 - Liquidation * §12 – Amendments to the Statutes * §13 – Reporting Periods and Accounting Years * §14 - Inception of the Articles of Association Articles of Association §0 – Preamble Upon entering the digital age, in which real and virtual space will equally determine the social, cultural and scientific development of mankind, Asociacioni për Softuer të Lirë dhe të Hapur (ASLH; The Association for Free and Open Software) has the long-term goal to raise and work on the questions this will necessarily raise. The direct function of ASLH is the unselfish promotion of Free and Open Source Software and Knowledge as well as creating and propagating the awareness of the related philosophical and social questions. The further mission of the ASLH is to empower and engage people around the world to collect and develop educational content under a free license or in the public domain, and to disseminate it effectively and globally. The ASLH will provides the essential infrastructure and an organizational framework for the support and development of open knowledge and software projects and other endeavors which serve this mission. The ASLH will make and keep useful information from its projects available on the Internet free of charge, in perpetuity. To create the best benefit for the people of Kosovo the ASLH will join forces with other supporters of the same causes. Instead of creating multiple organizations in Kosovo we ask the other international organizations to join forces with us an form working groups under the ASLH to implement our common goals in the small republic. The term Free and Open Source Software and Knowledge in the sense of the ASLH does not refer to the price, but rather to the following four freedoms: * the freedom to use a program and knowledge for any purpose * the freedom to study the program and knowledge and adapt it to your own needs. * the freedom to make copies for others. * the freedom to improve a program and knowledge and make these improvements available to others, so that the whole community benefits. This definition of Free Software goes back to the idea of freely exchanging knowledge and ideas that can traditionally be found in scientific fields. Like thoughts, software is non-tangible and duplicable without loss. Passing feeds an evolutionary process, advancing thoughts and software. Only Free Software preserves the possibility to comprehend and build upon scientific results. For scientists, it is the only kind of software which corresponds to the ideals of a free science. Accordingly, the promotion of free software is also a promotion of science. The distribution of information and the forming of an opinion are done increasingly by digital media, and the trend is to foster the use of those means for a direct citizen participation to democracy. Therefore, a central task of the ASLH is to train proficient citizens in these media, thereby promoting democracy. Digital space ("Cyberspace"), with software as its medium and its language has an enormous potential for the promotion of all mental and cultural aspects of mankind. By making it commonly available and opening up the medium, Free Free and Open Source Software and Knowledge grants equal chances and protection of privacy. Coining the awareness for the problems related to the digital age in all parts of society is long-term goal and a core aspect of the work of the ASLH. Therefore the ASLH will seek to increase the use of Free and Open Source Software and Knowledge in schools and universities in order to parallelize the education in real space matters with the creation of understanding and awareness of problems in virtual space. Free and Open Source Software and Knowledge guarantees traceable results and decision-making processes in science and public life as well as the individual rights to free development of personality and liberty of opinion. It is the job of the Free and Open Source Software and Knowledge into all areas that touch public life or "informational human rights" of citizens. §1 – Name, Office, Nature 1.1 The association will be known as Asociacioni për Softuer të Lirë dhe të Hapur, abbreviated as ASLH. 1.2 The association's registered offices are located in Prishtina. 1.3 Should no fixed registered office be established, it will be managed from the residence of the general manager at any given time. 1.4 The Association shall be a non-profit organization as defined by the laws in force in the Republic of Kosovo. §2 – Definition of Terminology 2.1 Free (as in Free and Open Source Software and Knowledge): the originator puts the intellectual work into the public domain free of charge and in an irretrievable manner. In doing so, the originator allows others the freedom to use the work for any purpose, to study how it functions, to adapt it to his/her own needs, to copy it for others and to improve it and make changes available for the common good. We talk of Free and Open Source Software and Knowledge in include not only software, but also the knowledge stored in the form of Wikis and Documents. In order to protect these freedoms, we understand the that Free and Open Source Software and Knowledge is to be software, documentation, instructions, Wikipages, videos or other media that is licensed under the latest version of one of the following licenses: * GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html ) * GNU Free Documentation License Version (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) * Creative Commons CC-BY-SA license Attribution-Share Alike Unported (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa) 2.2 Open (as in Open Software): since not all intellectual work can be or is protected with the same strength as the above mentioned licenses, we therefore recognize this secondary source of free software: * http://www.opensource.org/docs/osd * http://www.opensource.org/licenses 2.3 Free and Open Source Software and Knowledge: Any computer algorithm or other form of intellectual material. We include wikipages, videos, documentation and software in this definition. §3 – Purpose of the Association 3.1 The purpose of the Association is to promote, develop, distribute and support: * Free/Libre software as defined by the GNU.org project. * Open Source software as defined by the www.opensource.org. * open and participatory knowledge as defined by Wikimedia foundation. * information technology education such as Open Courseware from MIT. * open society using open and free communcation standards such as those from the W3C.org. in Kosovo. §4 – Activities of the Association 4.1 Activities of the Association are: * Run a yearly conference made available to the general public for the lowest possible charge that will further the aims set out on §3.1 * Enable access to free and open source software and knowledge by facilitating distribution and localization into the national languages of Kosovo * Coordinate with national and international partners and sponsors in the industry, academia and government to further the goals set out on §3.1 §5 – Membership 5.1 The membership of the Association is open to any person regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, ethnicity, religious belief, age or physical capacity. 5.2 The Assembly of Members shall determine whether a membership fee shall be required from members. Failure to pay the membership fee, after written or email notice of not doing so, shall be a ground for the exclusion of the member from the Association. §6 – Assembly of Members 6.1 The Assembly of Members is the highest governing body of the Association. It shall consist of all members of the Association. 6.2 The Assembly of Members shall have ultimate responsibility for the policies and financial affairs of the Association. 6.3 Apart from the other powers given to it by these statutes, the Assembly of Members shall also have the following powers: to elect members of the board of directors; to approve reports by officers; to approve the annual working plan; to approve the spending of money over €300. 6.4 The Assembly of Members can delegate any of its responsibilities to the Board of Directors or any other organ or officers of the Association, by the decision of the majority of its members. §7 – Meetings of the Assembly of Members 7.1 The Assembly of Members shall meet at least once a year at an Annual General Meeting (AGM) at which time it shall review and approve the assets, liabilities, income, expenditures and programmes of the Association for the past year. It shall also consider anticipated assets, liabilities, income expenditures and programmes for the upcoming year. 7.2 The Assembly of Members can also meet at Extraordinary General Meetings (EGMs) whenever required by (half of the members) or by the Board of Directors. Such request must be addressed to the Secretary who will issue the notice of the meeting to all members, according to the procedure described in paragraph 6.3 here below. 7.3 Written notice of AGMs and/or EGMs, stating the date and place of the meeting, together with an agenda of the meeting, shall be distributed to all members at least 7 (seven) days before the day on which the meeting is to be held. 7.4 A minimum presence of (half) of the members is required for meetings of the Assembly of Members to conduct business. If this minimum ('the quorum') is not obtained, the meeting shall be postponed to a specified later date and a new notice shall be sent to all members. 7.5 Each member of the Association has one vote in the Assembly of Members. 7.6 Decisions in the Assembly of Members shall be taken by majority of the members present. 7.7 Any member of the Assembly of Members shall abstain from voting on a decision on any matter in which he or she has a personal or economic interest. §8 – Board of Directors 8.1 Apart from other powers given to it by these present statutes, the Board of Directors shall be responsible for presenting an annual working plan to be approved by the Assembly of Members and safeguarding the property and good standing of the Association. The Board of Directors shall always act in accordance with the purpose of the Association. 8.2 The Board of Directors shall be composed of a diverse group people in good moral and legal standing and significant achievement in the IT industry, academia and society. They will be elected individually by the Assembly of Members by a simple majority. Each director shall serve for a term of (one) year and shall remain in office until a successor takes office, or until death, resignation or removal. 8.3 The Board of Directors shall consist of at least 5 (five) Members. 8.4 Members of the Board of Directors can be removed before the end of their term by a vote at an AGM or EGM of the Assembly of Members. 8.5 In case of the death, resignation or removal of a member of the Board of Directors, the Assembly of Members shall elect a successor to serve the remaining term. 8.6 Decisions by the Board of Directors shall be by majority. 8.7 The Board of Directors can decide to refer any matter to the Assembly of Members for decision. 8.8 No remuneration or compensation shall be paid to the Directors without the approval of the Assembly of Members and only where the remuneration or compensation is reasonable and for work performed for the Association. 8.9 Any member of the Board of Directors shall abstain from voting on a decision on any matter in which he or she has a personal or economic interest. §9 – Officers and Employees 9.1 If necessary, the Board of Directors shall appoint employed Officers or hire agents to undertake the daily conduct of business of the Association. The terms of their employment will be determined by the Board of Directors upon a simple majority approval by the Assembly of Members. 9.2 The Officers will be employed under a written agreement that details all salaries and benefits to be paid to the Officer. Any salary or benefit shall be reasonable and paid only for work performed for the Association. 9.3 Any Officer may resign at any time by giving written notice to the Board of Directors, to the chairman of the board, to the vice-chair, or to the secretary of the Association. Any such resignation shall take effect at the time specified therein, or, if the time be not specified therein, upon its acceptance by the Board of Directors. §10 - Financing of the Association 10.1 The funds required for the Association are raised through: * membership fees, * entry fees from the annual conference * sponsoring fees paid for the conference * contributions by government and other public bodies * donations * other financial contributions made by third parties, * benefits paid to the Association for activities it pursues for the common good, including lectures. 10.2 The members pay fees based on the decision taken by the Assembly of Members in simple majority vote. 10.3 No portion of the income or property aforesaid shall be paid or transferred, directly or indirectly, by way of dividend, bonus or otherwise by way of profit, to persons who, at any time are, or have been Members of the Association or to any one or more of them or to any person claiming through any one or more of them. This includes associates, friends and family. 10.4 Except, with the previous approval of the Assembly of Members, no remuneration or other benefit in money or moneys worth shall be given by the Association to any of its Members, whether officers or employees of the Association or not, except payment of out of pocket expenses, reasonable and proper interest on money lent, or reasonable and proper rent on premises let to the Association. 10.5 Nothing in this clause shall prevent the payment by the Association in good faith of reasonable remuneration to any of its officers or employees or to any other person in return for any services actually rendered to the Association. §11 - Liquidation 11.1 In case of a liquidation of the Association or termination of its tax-privileged status any assets remaining after the discharge of liabilities will become assets of the: University of Prishtina Address: Rektorati, Rr. Nene Tereza, p/n 10 000 Prishtina Tel: +381 (38) 244183 Fax: +381 (38) 244187 which has to use them exclusively and directly for non-for-profit purposes only. §12 – Amendments to the Statutes 12.1 The present statutes can be amended by the decision of a three fourth majority of the Assembly of Members. §13 – Reporting Periods and Accounting Years 13.1 The Board of Directors and appointed Officers shall provide annual reports to the Assembly of Members AGMs or whenever requested by an EGM. 13.2 The accounting year of the Association shall coincide with the civil year. §14 - Inception of the Articles of Association 14.1 These Articles of Association come into effect immediately following a decision by the Assembly of Members on xx February 2008 in Prishtina, Republic of Kosovo, and online.

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PDF readers campaign
by Michel Roche 04 Feb '09

04 Feb '09

Hello, I submitted an article yesterday on linuxfr.org and it was approved in the morning. Since then : 30 comments with quite a good load of positive feedback, and more than 700 hits issued on the pdfreaders.org page :-) The url of the article : http://linuxfr.org/2009/02/04/24972.html My 2 cents Michel

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Discussion February 2009