Group: LibrePlanet Ontario/Street Team Outreach

Singpolyma (talk) drafted the below based partly on discussion in the 24 July 2016 mumble meeting. It's obviously very subjective and from my own head -- much more discussion is needed to turn this into something actually representative of us all as a group.

Basic Structure

1. Brainstorming / Training about effective street-team outreach
2. Street team!
   1. Brochure or bookmark hand out
   2. talk about basic points
   3. get their email address to force a small commitment if they have enough interest, otherwise give a business card so they can email us to ask any questions
3. Talk about freedom, four freedoms, basic followup for people who may be interested in coming back to hear more
   • Also, debrief street team

Core Message / Talking Points

Software can work for you! A computer is not like a toaster oven -- it does not only do one thing, but can in fact do many things! If you computer does not do what you want, it could! We represent a global community of people working to improve your access to apps that really behave in ways that are beneficial to you and can be modified by anyone to suit any purpose.

Note how the above statement is different from the normal "Software should work for you" rhetoric. I think people first need to even learn that software can do what they wish, that modifications beneficial to them, maintainers who care about users, etc are actually a possibility.

So a question might be -- well, if it can, why doesn't it? Well, it doesn't because the people who make most software do not have the manpower to make all possible improvements / changes themselves, and they lock down their software so that no one else can help them make such beneficial modifications. Our solution? We have create a complete system of software for your computer which is created and maintained by the collective effort of thousands of people, and which anyone can help improve!

Discussion about the above is needed, but I believe that long before the four freedoms and copyright and "how are you going to make money" comes the basic understanding:

1. Your computer could do things you wish it did
2. Your computer does not do some of these things
3. We want to build a future where you computer does do these things. Join us in building this future, we've already come so far!

Problem: What about when free software isn't better? We need a way to make a case for freedom even when it means your computer can't do the things you want it to do (yet)... --Balleyne (talk) 22:21, 24 July 2016 (EDT)

What not to focus on

• Negative activism / scare tactics. Yes, there is a lot of scary stuff out there, and DRM is bad, and privacy is important, and surveillance and encryption, etc etc. While a scared person is a motivated person, a positively motivated person is often a much greater force for good. Any mention of the negative aspects of proprietary software should be in the context of a positive alternative, connected to the positive benefits of software freedom rather than just the drawbacks of proprietary software.