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   Jan Vlug (janvlug@mastodon.social)'s status on Sunday, 19-Jan-2025 20:13:44 JST Jan Vlug

   #TikTok goes on black, #Instagram changes layout - two examples that upset a lot of users.

   Therefore the #Fediverse is so great: freedom for the users. And #freedom is
   #power.

   As defined by the Free Software Foundation #FSF in https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.en.html

   Free Software is a philosophical point of view.

   Please learn about this as understanding #software freedom is essential in repressive times where the users loose more and more freedom.

   #FreeSoftware #philosophy #FOSS #Mastodon #democracy

   • Alexandre Oliva (moving to @lxo@snac.lx.oliva.nom.br) likes this.
   • Embed this notice
     Julius Schwartzenberg (jschwart@mas.to)'s status on Sunday, 19-Jan-2025 20:13:43 JST Julius Schwartzenberg

     in reply to

     • Vee

     @VeroniqueB99 @janvlug you're using the word "free" multiple times, but its meaning is not always obvious. With "Free Health Care", do you refer to the financial costs or the freedom to choose particular care providers and be in control over your healthcare as in "free software"?

     Also "Free College" is (apparently) Walfdorf education if you use the word "free" as in "free software". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waldorf_education

     I don't think this type of education suits everybody.

   • Embed this notice
     Vee (veroniqueb99@mastodon.social)'s status on Sunday, 19-Jan-2025 20:13:44 JST Vee

     in reply to

     @janvlug

     "Free Software is a philosophical point of view." Absofackinglutely! as is

     Free Health Care,
     Free social policies to help poor people
     Free College
     Free government services among others...

     It's OUR mindsets that need to change. It's never the machines. It's always the humans.

   • Embed this notice
     Julius Schwartzenberg (jschwart@mas.to)'s status on Sunday, 19-Jan-2025 20:32:49 JST Julius Schwartzenberg

     in reply to

     • Vee

     @VeroniqueB99 @janvlug I would agree that such services should be available at no cost, but we should not forget that "free" in "free software" is unrelated to software being available at no cost. In Dutch for instance we talk about "vrije software" and "gratis onderwijs". Only English uses the same word for both.

     I still don't fully understand what you refer to with "free education" if you relate it to "free" as in "free software".

   • Embed this notice
     Vee (veroniqueb99@mastodon.social)'s status on Sunday, 19-Jan-2025 20:32:50 JST Vee

     in reply to

     • Julius Schwartzenberg

     @jschwart @janvlug

     I was not referring to any particular college, I could've said "free education" and "subsidized health care'.

   • Embed this notice
     Alexandre Oliva (moving to @lxo@snac.lx.oliva.nom.br) (lxo@gnusocial.jp)'s status on Monday, 20-Jan-2025 01:50:19 JST Alexandre Oliva (moving to @lxo@snac.lx.oliva.nom.br)

     in reply to
     one not-so-minor nit: freedom and power are opposites, at least in free software philosophy
     
     freedom is control over one's own life
     
     power is control over others' lives
     
     the more others have power over you, the more freedom you lose
     Jure Repinc :linux: :kde:, Jan Vlug and MortSinyx like this.
   • Embed this notice
     Jan Vlug (janvlug@mastodon.social)'s status on Monday, 20-Jan-2025 07:57:21 JST Jan Vlug

     in reply to

     • Alexandre Oliva (moving to @lxo@snac.lx.oliva.nom.br)

     @lxo Thanks for this feedback. I will read more about this. I never thought of power exclusively as exercising control over others. What about power to self determinations? That is actually what I meant to say.

   • Embed this notice
     Julius Schwartzenberg (jschwart@mas.to)'s status on Monday, 20-Jan-2025 22:50:17 JST Julius Schwartzenberg

     in reply to

     • Vee

     @VeroniqueB99 @janvlug yeah it is quite specific, but I think you might find it interesting. I can recommend reading what Jan linked to.

     Possibly a bit easier would be to read this story: https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html

     It also happens to be related to education :)

   • Embed this notice
     Vee (veroniqueb99@mastodon.social)'s status on Monday, 20-Jan-2025 22:50:18 JST Vee

     in reply to

     • Julius Schwartzenberg

     @jschwart @janvlug then I'm not sure.

   • Embed this notice
     Alexandre Oliva (moving to @lxo@snac.lx.oliva.nom.br) (lxo@gnusocial.jp)'s status on Thursday, 23-Jan-2025 04:04:13 JST Alexandre Oliva (moving to @lxo@snac.lx.oliva.nom.br)

     in reply to
     yeah, it's a common (mis?)use of the notion of 'power'; even the term 'empowerment' seems inappropriate to me under this light.
     
     https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/freedom-or-power.en.html is the primary reference for this aspect of free software philosophy and jargon
   • Embed this notice
     Jan Vlug (janvlug@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 23-Jan-2025 05:01:38 JST Jan Vlug

     in reply to

     • Alexandre Oliva (moving to @lxo@snac.lx.oliva.nom.br)

     @lxo Thanks, I bookmarked it to read.