[Fsf-friends] Re: [??.??.??.?] Red Hat signs MoU with Kerala govt

[Sandip Bhattacharya]

Praveen A wrote:
>> > This is really a shocking news!!!
>>
>> Nothing shocking ... the diversity is very important.
> 
> ... such a move from a government with stated policy of supporting
> Free Software and knowledge society. The essensial factors for such a
> society is the participation from everyone involved, transparency of
> actions ... When actions are not fully in line with the policy it is
> shocking (it might cease to be shocking when it becomes so common)...
> first smart city and then now ...

1. Who do you think a government department should contact if they have any IT
   need? A local LUG? fsf-india? Or would it be normal to give out a public tender?

2. Who do you think should be on the lookout for government tenders, and pay the
   tender fees, put forward their solution and promise support? A local LUG? FSF-India?
   I think FSF-India has better things to do than that.

3. Who do you think a government department should contact when their brand new printer
   needs to be installed on the Linux desktops? A Local lug? FSF-India? If you look at how
   Linux newbies are treated in any LUG (in India, or anywhere else), I think not(try saying 
   RTFM to a government department?).

If we are interested in seeing Free software being used widely in government adhering to Free
software principles, we should be setting up a completely commercial entity to do so, whose
primary work would be to do 1,2,3.

There is no point being shocked, otherwise.

- Sandip