This needs to be stated explicitly: My intention is to help found an FS org.
This is fine, and since I release some of my code under the GPL, if there was anything I could do to help I would. However I'm far from a free software purist, I respect the decision of some software developers to monetise their skills without having to balance their future on something as unreliable as "support" (or worse, options). If the source code of their applications is available /to me/, I consider it free and open to an appreciable degree. Ireland's size is another factor, but I have to defer to Jimmy O'Regan for putting it much better than I could:
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As I said, there's no One True Meaning of Free (the examples were meant merely as illustrations of this) - there are going to be squabbles no matter what. An organisation that sets out to promote only free software is going to face more difficulty than an organisation promoting open source, or an organisation promoting both; open source has mind share, and a larger amount of people willing to promote it.
If a set of common goals can be found, which people agree are important enough, then most people will be willing to toe a party line to achive them; and split hairs kept to a minimum. Aside from FS vs OSS, there's Linux vs GNU/Linux; [GNU/]Linux vs BSD etc. (If you can split atoms, it gives more ways to split hairs :) The goals you mentioned are important, and it should be easy enough to rally together several disparate groups around them.
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You sound like you've decided the route you're going to take however, and that's fine. I don't have time to dedicate to a developer collective and you do, so more power to you for going ahead with it. Each to his or her own.
An Irish EFF would be great, there is definitely a need for both organisations. I read about that EFF attempt in the freedom@lists.beecher.net list archives but got no response when I mailed the guy who seemed to be leading it.
I guess that would have been me. I don't remember getting an email from you at the time, but that doesn't say a whole lot. All we had done at that stage was meet up and have a(n interesting) chat in the lobby of some hotel, and it sort of fizzled out after that. I tried to kick things up a little a couple of times, but there was a mailing list and a forum, and things were fragmented. Par for the course.
If such a group is being set up, please mention it on this list, and if you're in Dublin on Nov 13th, it would be great if you could drop into the fsfe-ie meeting. Or if Nov 13th is no good, we could hold an extra meeting if you're interested.
It's unlikely I'll get to Dublin before the weekend of the 28th, but if I do I'll let the list know.
adam