FSFLA: Linux kernel is "open core" [LWN.net]

FSFLA: Linux kernel is "open core"

Posted Nov 9, 2010 18:16 UTC (Tue) by nix (subscriber, #2304)
In reply to: FSFLA: Linux kernel is "open core" by dion
Parent article: FSFLA: Linux kernel is "open core"

I think you'l find Alexandre's doing that too (and has been for many years). But that's not done wearing his FSFLA hat, as far as I know.

Isn't he allowed to do more than one thing at once? (Even if one of them *is* quixotic bordering on useless?)

(Log in to post comments)

FSFLA: Linux kernel is "open core"

Posted Nov 10, 2010 2:50 UTC (Wed) by lxoliva (subscriber, #40702) [Link]

Indeed, the FSFs are political organizations, so they tend to get into software development only when there's a political reason to do so. That was the case when the FSF was started, with the initial (now broader) purpose of raising funds for the GNU project, and this is the case for FSFLA when we undertake say freeing Linux or the income tax program that Brazilian citizens are required to use to prepare their tax returns. Other than that, these organizations support other priority Free Software projects (the FSF has a list of these), but developing software is not where the focus is in defending software users' and developers' rights and freedoms any more.

Professionally, I still devote a significant amount of time to developing GNU software, which I'm happy to be paid by my employer to do. Personally, I volunteered time to maintain various GNU and non-GNU Free Software projects for some 15 years before I got involved with FSFLA, but now most of my spare time is devoted to political activism for software freedom. I consider that fighting for freedom and training the next generations to care for it is far more important and more valuable, in the long term, than most software development tasks I'd be qualified to undertake.