Re: [GMG-Devel] Apply to work on MediaGoblin for GSoC 2015!

[Sam Tuke]

> But I don't mind taking money from proprietary software developers to spend making libre stuff that would not otherwise happen.

+1

Great to see MG taking the opportunity to get funded students involved.

How are the applications looking Chris?

Sam.

On 28 March 2015 01:51:16 CET, Dave Crossland <address@hidden> wrote:

On 26 Mar 2015 3:45 pm, "fr33domlover" <address@hidden> wrote:
>
> On 2015-03-26
> Dave Crossland <address@hidden> wrote:
>
> > Hi
> >
> > I think it's wise to avoid ad hominem pro argumentation, no cult of great
> > leader here :)
> >
> > What's RMS' rationale? What's Thomas's? What's fr33dom's?
> >
> > Mine is that internet advertisers so what they do and nothing you do had
> > any effect on that. If they give you money with no strings attached, why
> > not take it?
> >
>
> That is probably the way many people think, which is why gsoc continues to be
> popular even among GNU projects and people who believe in software freedom
> ethics.
>
> The way I see it, collaborating in some way with people who do unethical things
> in public, proudly, feels unethical as well. It marks their work as legitimate
> in a sense, and encourages them to continue to do what they do, because if you
> take the money you create demand for more profit, which is more spying and more
> centralized proprietary software and services.
>
> For example, would you make business with people whose money comes from killing
> people?

Computers are inherently violent, being part of global liberal capitalism. (Liberal in the British sense, not the US sense)

A lot of near slave labour goes into mining the rare earth metals for our toys.

Many people die in those mines.

You bought a computer and probably earn a living related to computing. Is their blood on your hands?

> If not, is spying on people and making proprietary software different
> in this sense? If yes, why?

They will do it anyway. If you don't follow your orders from management someone else is keen to take your place. Of course you can refuse, and I'm not motivated to make proprietary software myself. But I don't mind taking money from proprietary software developers to spend making libre stuff that would not otherwise happen.

That's the balance for me: what will happen if I do nothing vs what will never happen if I do nothing.

> I wouldn't take g00gle's money for the same reason I wouldn't take it from
> micro$oft, apple, oracle and so on, or any other organization acting in
> unethical ways...

I'm sure we have some smokers on this list, in your friends, in your family. Should smoking be illegal? Are cigarette companies unethical? I don't smoke so to me personally they are not, but since many people smoke, know the risks and do it anyway, I don't think cigarette companies are unethical.

My point is that whatever you think, reasonable people disagree about ethical standards, the world has a varied and rich culture of ethics, and applying your personal ethics to the world is... unfair. Its better to enter into Rawlsian bargains of accepting others ethics as tolerable and moving past the differences to work together on common goals and live in peace for the rest.

>
>
> Anyway I didn't intend to go into the philosophy - although I don't mind - just
> wondering if this view makes sense to anyone else.
>
>
>
> ---
> fr33domlover         <http://www.rel4tion.org/people/fr33domlover>
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