Dear FSF.

I’ve been using FLOSS (free/libre/open source software) on my computers pretty much exclusively for about 5 or 6 years now and I don’t see me going back to the limited lands of Windows or OSX anytime soon, but I have started to feel some sort of disconnect to one of the leading institutions of FLOSS lately: The Free Software Foundation (FSF).

The FSF has achieved a lot, has funded and supported a lot of the GNU projects and software developers, has defended the GPL (my preferred license for software) in court and in general have had a huge part in bringing free software to where it is today. I am not ungrateful, it’s just … it’s not you, it’s me.

When I look at some of the recent FSF campaigns I feel ashamed for being seen as associated with it: Windows7Sins is just the prime example for the kind of attitude I can no longer stand (DefectiveByDesign isn’t much better). What I can not longer stand is the vocabulary of hate and judgement, the negativity of it all.

Look at the campaign name: Windows7Sins. Sins are a religious concept, one that doesn’t apply to software but one that shows what kind of broken self perception the FSF has: That of a missionary, of someone who can, from the moral high ground, cast judgement down onto everybody else with a holier-than-thou attitude.

Those campaigns are full of negativity, of nagging and most importantly talking about issues that do not even reach their target audience. If you want to make people use your software or support your cause, it’s not enough to just run around screaming how “evil” the others are, that makes you look like a raving lunatic. And that is not my way.

While I do have ideals and while I do consider Freedom Zero to be important, I don’t preach because in the end that is my decision. It’s not my place to tell people what they are not allowed to do because of my rules. What I can do is to lead by example. To be positive.

I am a very positive person, even if I might might look ranty or grumpy from time to time, and these campaigns that focus on whatever other people might have done wrong just bore me. No. That’s not enough. They suck the life out of me.

If you want people to adapt your ideals or products you gotta show them why they are better than what they have been using: Tell them about the brilliant things they get when they use your stuff, tell them about new possibilities. The FSF should focus on outlining what positive things a new users gets from FLOSS: Tell people about VLC that allows them to play basically every type of media without hassle. Don’t talk about why IE is evil but show them what an awesome browser Firefox is. Just drop the hate.

In my life my message has never been one of hate. And I feel that lately our goals and approaches no longer line up the right way. You probably didn’t change, you were always like that, maybe I changed or got tired of that attitude, I don’t know. It’s not you, it’s me, but I think we can’t really let you talk for me anymore.

Thanks for all you have done and good luck with your future projects and campaigns,

tante

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