Group talk:Freedom Ladder

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Getting started

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FSF's Steps

This is what we’ve developed so far, feel free to weigh in with their thoughts and suggestions.

• 1. Understanding nonfree software
• 2. Finding your own reason to use free software
• 3. Free replacements and installing your first free program
• 4. Understanding encryption
• 5. Mobile phone freedom
• 6. Learning how to find help
• 7. Trying a free operating system

Suggested Additional Steps

• Please be sure to number them where you'd like them to go, if you're suggesting another step for the freedom ladder!

• 1. Understanding the importance of addressing digital illiterates - Imerbp ?

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Text below added by Paul Sutton (zleap):

So to address 1, would it be better to use the term "addressing digital literacy or the digital divide"? "Digital illiterate" is a label that people may not be helpful to the cause.

This may need to be 1 or 2: Understanding and addressing the needs of users, how / why people use technology and how we can encourage use of freedom respecting software.

If we are aiming this at people who don't know what free means, we should perhaps use for step 2 - "Free replacements and installing your first free*dom respecting* program we need perhaps really emphasise free as in freedom part of this.

Using / advocating freedom / privacy respecting social media is also important here too. There is no point dumping google chrome for firefox, google search for duckduckgo / searX only to keep using facebook etc.

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Suggestion sent in: > > Compartmentalize personal and non-personal lives, and begin to > > transition > your accounts to free software. Use separate browsers or even computers when possible.. etc

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i see some important rungs missing, arguably the most important ones

the top step of the "freedom ladder" now is "try a libre distro" - from my perspective, that is only the beginning of the journey - surely, at the top of that ladder is a desirable destination, or some path toward "use free software exclusively" - i see, at the top of that ladder, a "freedom tree-house", where all the fun stuff happens

IMHO, the current "freedom ladder" is only the invitation - step 7: "try a libre distro", that is the RSVP - the most interesting and important steps lie beyond that, such as: making sure that the software actually works well and is well-documented, when people arrive at the party

if the distro is under-staffed (most are), and the favorite programs are broken or buggy, people may not enjoy what they see at the top of that ladder, and may be inclined to step back off it entirely, and not recommend it to anyone else, or worse, to recommend against it

participation of users is extremely important (arguably essential) - there should more steps like:

• get involved in the discussions of your favorite free software teams
• improve the wiki, documentation, or translations of your favorite free software
• learn how to file useful bug reports (and do not hesitate to file them)
• be patient, but do not hesitate to nag, if no one fixes the bug
• learn to hack
• adopt a package which needs a dedicated maintainer
• learn about licensing and get involved with the FSD or FSDG

--bill-auger (talk) 20:51, 8 June 2023 (EDT)