LibrePlanet: Conference/2014/Conference brainstorm

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If you would like to share a quick idea for a workshop, topic, or a speaker you’d like to see at LibrePlanet, please add your thoughts below. You'll have to use the buttons in at the upper right to sign in to this wiki or make an account.

Workshop ideas

Topic ideas

  • A session or networking/social event where folks could discuss Tech-Startups/Free software based Business ideas?

The goal would be to network with committed developers who would want to see greater adoption of Free Software in Businesses (especially SMBs) by writing Custom Business Software and in the process make some money (https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/selling.html). An informal round-table type with setting with interested folks getting 15 minutes talk/pitch per participant is a suggestion..

  • GNU Hurd! Perhaps one of the lead developers can speak about the current status and how the community can contribute to the project.
  • A session or discussion involving the Electronic Frontier Foundation and/or Fight for the Future (which seems Boston based).
  • Free access to information and privacy concerns as it relates to online public libraries such as the Digital Public Library (dp.la), Open Library (https://openlibrary.org/) and the Internet Archive (https://archive.org). Recently, the Open Library and Internet Archive moved to support https (https://blog.archive.org/2013/10/25/reader-privacy-at-the-internet-archive/). It would be great if the DPLA could commit to doing likewise (if they haven't already).
  • Relationship between FLOSS and the Open Hardware/Maker Space communities, perhaps in collaboration with Artisan's Asylum of Somerville?
  • Relationship between FLOSS and voting machines that cannot be easily hacked, perhaps in collaboration with osdv.org?
  • Relationship between FLOSS and charitable efforts, perhaps in collaboration with the Developers for Good meetup out of New York?
  • Relationship between FLOSS and local monopoly pricing of broadband internet connections, and government violation of the Bill of Rights, perhaps in collaboration with occupyhere.org and with http://www.whoismcafee.com/future-tense-d-central/
  • Free Software and Politics: The different uses and campaigns that political activists can run and conduct
  • Automated aquaponics systems: scalable, sustainable food production, using open hardware/software for remote monitoring and automation. Free software, free society, free food!
  • As a developer, I would like to publish/donate software for noncommercial purposes, but require paid licensing from the big commercial corporations. I believe many others would want the same. But I have not seen any copyleft discussions or documents that address that type of arrangement.
  • Hardware that supports free software and free/open formats (What is available currently, and ways to promote more libre-friendly hardware)
  • Best practices/suggestions for migrating from proprietary ecosystems to free ecosystems (especially for newbies and non-programmers)
  • How to run a profitable free-software company (as a newcomer to free software and an end-user/non-programmer, I want to trust that whatever software I use will be supported for years to come (i.e. will be updated regularly), which requires a profitable business model)
    • Cooperatives
  • FLOSS medical devices
    • Safe hacking
  • City Hall, for instance City of Cambridge, for instance City of Boston.

How to talk software freedom with municipal civic officials and municipal civic advocates!?...


Speaker ideas

For each speaker, please note what they work on and what they promote.

For caveats, please try to be precise if they differ from FSF's philosophy. The goal is not to build a list of "sins" (ex: I heard X say "open source" in 2011), but to avoid surprises. For example, some people who support free software promote SaaSS or make a lot of unnecessary compromises.

A person doesn't have to share 100% of FSF's ideals to be a speaker, but it would be best to avoid giving an audience to someone who would encourage people to value convenience over taking a firm stance for freedom.

A link to their project is useful, but it's more important to make our own assessment of their work and standpoints.

Alison Chaiken

Work / ideals:

  • ...?

Caveats:

  • ...?

Eben Moglen

Work / ideals:

  • FSF legal counsel, SFLC free software law firm

Caveats:

  • None. His positions on free software are thoroughly documented and don't pose any real problem.

Chris Montgomery

Work / ideals:

  • audio video formats (Ogg vorbis, theora, opus...)
  • some campaigning against software patents

Caveats:

  • Supported Mozilla's November 2013 decision to use CISCO's binary video codec, saying it helps free software most in the long run. (Ciaran comments: he seems to genuinely want to help free software, and this one compromise has to be seen amidst years of work. I noted this issue because I hope all proposals are examined thoroughly but I don't see any problem with having Chris as a speaker.)
  • ...?

Jay Sulzberger

Work / ideals:

  • ...?

Caveats:

  • ...?

John McAfee

Work / ideals:

  • ...?

Caveats:

  • ...?

Bruce Schneier

Work / ideals:

  • Security Technologist, writer, and board member of the EFF
  • Outspoken critic of massive surveillance and the need for the engineering community to help fix it:

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/05/government-betrayed-internet-nsa-spying

Caveats:

  • Doesn't agree that all software users deserve the four freedoms.
  • Uses Windows
  • Promotes non-free software
  • ...?

Jessamyn West

Work / ideals:

Caveats:

  • ...?

Aaron Seigo

Work / ideals:

Caveats:

  • ...?

Noam Chomsky

Work / ideals:

  • http://www.chomsky.info/
  • Critique of US foreign policy, linguist, MIT Professor Emeritus, etc.
  • Opinion concerning "Intellectual Property", quoted from: http://blog.p2pfoundation.net/noam-chomsky-on-intellectual-property/2011/12/25 I just don’t think it has much to do with innovation or independence. It has to do with protecting major concentrations of power, which mostly got their power as a public gift, and making sure that they can maintain and expand their power. And these are highly protectionist devices and I don’t think… You really have to ram them down people’s throats. They don’t make any economic sense or any other sense.

Caveats:

  • I'm not sure if he is acquainted with the ideals of the free software community. But if he gives a talk regarding recent Snowden's revelations about the N.S.A, it'd be very interesting.
  • ...?

Other suggestions

This page was a featured resource in November 2013.



  • Would there be any interest in requesting a screening of Terms and Conditions May Apply? As far as I can see, it has not been show in MA yet and this conference might be an opportunity to get a group together to view it. Details here: http://tacma.net/location.php
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