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Weblog

2 augustus 2014

FSFE: een vragenlijst

Zojuist heb ik een vragenlijst ingevuld voor de FSFE. Gezien mijn antwoorden inzicht kunnen geven over de relevantie van vrije software, meld ik mijn antwoorden (in het Engels) hier.

Why did you join the FSFE as a volunteer, Fellow, supporter, or donor?

I joined the FSFE to support the good cause of creating a world where people use free software and are conscious about their freedom. Furthermore, dangers like software patents, DRM and proprietary software (especially in the public sector) need to be challenged time and again.

In what way does the work of the FSFE today contribute to the advancement of Free Software, and which activities are most important in this?

There are a number of campaigns, among which those against DRM (and other technology restrictions), software patents in Europe, and vendor lock-in in legislative bodies of the European Union. There may be many more campaigns, but the above are probably those that I find the most important.

In what way does the work of the FSFE today NOT meet the needs of the Free Software community, and what activities would be needed in meeting those unmet needs?

The FSFE should strive for a strong foot in EU bodies (giving advice, lobbying). Probably this is already done a lot; as of yet I am not sufficiently active on the political side of the FSFE to be able to judge on this.

How would you explain others in two sentences what the FSFE does?

The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) stands for the use of free software, which are programs that one may use, change and redistribute without restrictions. One of their foci is the ongoing struggle against the widespread use of Microsoft (and other non-free) products within the European Union. Such a vendor lock-in results in difficulties in mutual communication between EU bodies (both people and software), and with other governments and organisations, and a general crippling of the software industry. This results, not even mentioning licence costs, in unnecesarily high costs in automation.

Which organisations do you feel have objectives similar to, or overlapping with, the FSFE?

For instance, the FSF, Bits for Freedom and the Pirate Party have similar objectives. Still, the FSFE (and of course the FSF) has a distinct role in society. Their focus on free software makes clear what needs to be done (and how it needs to be done) to problems concerning all kinds of restrictions to technology, and the surveilance state (a subject that should stay a focus of the FSF, FSFE to a much lesser extent).

How would you define your background (multiple answers possible)?

Hier heb ik verschillende dingen aangevinkt, waaronder Academic en Political Activist. Gezien mijn minimale activiteit als blogger moge het duidelijk zijn dat het politiek activisme wat op de achtergrond staat. Mijn focus was de laatste jaren nu eenmaal mijn academische carrière (dit jaar promoveer ik).

How did you participate / contribute in FSFE?