[Fsf-friends] Re: Forming FSUGs in the country

Suraj Kumar suraj@symonds.net
Fri, 11 Apr 2003 09:53:10 +0530


Richard Stallman writes:

 > Right now the  LUGs teach people to think of  the system as "Linux"
 > and teach them to think its  sole purpose is its own success.  (For
 > example,   ILUG-Delhu  voted  to   endorse  the   non-free  program
 > KalCulate.)  LUGs capture the energy that comes from enthusiasm for

similar  to  ILUG-Delhi,  ILUG-Chennai  has  been running  on  a  high
"enthusiasm-fever"  and  has been  supporting  users  to run  non-free
software  like  Oracle and  Opera  under  "Linux"  and has  also  been
supporting  other non-free  Unices like  Solaris and  such.   The main
misconception being,  most think anything UNIX is  "cool" and anything
non-UNIX  is non-cool (and,  free Vs  non-free does  not sell  much in
there).

In  a recent  debate  ILUG-Chennai  has openly  agreed  that it  would
support  _any_ software  that runs  under  "Linux" hence  making it  a
"software user group" and _not_ a free software user group. When I had
been  a  sinning[*]  webmaster  of  this group  ILUGC-Chennai  made  a
decision that it would claim  that it supports free software that runs
under GNU/Linux  and other free  operating systems.  While  this claim
can  still be  seen on  its website,  the group  does not  do  what it
says. Nor  does it say what it  does. and people who  come out looking
for free  software (not necessarily only  free as in  freedom but also
free  as in  gratis)  get  confused by  the  endless enthusiasm  about
"Linux" that they see in this list.

  -Suraj

[*] Oh prophet,  this was before your lotus  feet touched Chennai soil
and made  the "other  MIT"[**] a holy-shrine  (yes, really...   i tell
students "look,  thats the  hall where rms  spoke").  Having  been the
webmaster of  a 'software  users group' that  does not care  about the
importance of  free software, I understand  I _am_ a  sinner by large,
now. and  I hope  the prophet's  grace would shower  and wash  my sins
away... and oh prophet, what is my penance? I'm already not using vi!

[**] RMS refers  to Madras Institute of Technology  as the "other MIT"
in his speech.
-- 
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