On joining the FSF board
Oct. 29th, 2014 05:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mjg59I joined the board of directors of the Free Software Foundation a couple of weeks ago. I've been travelling a bunch since then, so haven't really had time to write about it. But since I'm currently waiting for a test job to finish, why not?
It's impossible to overstate how important free software is. A movement that began with a quest to work around a faulty printer is now our greatest defence against a world full of hostile actors. Without the ability to examine software, we can have no real faith that we haven't been put at risk by backdoors introduced through incompetence or malice. Without the freedom to modify software, we have no chance of updating it to deal with the new challenges that we face on a daily basis. Without the freedom to pass that modified software on to others, we are unable to help people who don't have the technical skills to protect themselves.
Free software isn't sufficient for building a trustworthy computing environment, one that not merely protects the user but respects the user. But it is necessary for that, and that's why I continue to evangelise on its behalf at every opportunity.
However.
Free software has a problem. It's natural to write software to satisfy our own needs, but in doing so we write software that doesn't provide as much benefit to people who have different needs. We need to listen to others, improve our knowledge of their requirements and ensure that they are in a position to benefit from the freedoms we espouse. And that means building diverse communities, communities that are inclusive regardless of people's race, gender, sexuality or economic background. Free software that ends up designed primarily to meet the needs of well-off white men is a failure. We do not improve the world by ignoring the majority of people in it. To do that, we need to listen to others. And to do that, we need to ensure that our community is accessible to everybody.
That's not the case right now. We are a community that is disproportionately male, disproportionately white, disproportionately rich. This is made strikingly obvious by looking at the composition of the FSF board, a body made up entirely of white men. In joining the board, I have perpetuated this. I do not bring new experiences. I do not bring an understanding of an entirely different set of problems. I do not serve as an inspiration to groups currently under-represented in our communities. I am, in short, a hypocrite.
So why did I do it? Why have I joined an organisation whose founder I publicly criticised for making sexist jokes in a conference presentation? I'm afraid that my answer may not seem convincing, but in the end it boils down to feeling that I can make more of a difference from within than from outside. I am now in a position to ensure that the board never forgets to consider diversity when making decisions. I am in a position to advocate for programs that build us stronger, more representative communities. I am in a position to take responsibility for our failings and try to do better in future.
People can justifiably conclude that I'm making excuses, and I can make no argument against that other than to be asked to be judged by my actions. I hope to be able to look back at my time with the FSF and believe that I helped make a positive difference. But maybe this is hubris. Maybe I am just perpetuating the status quo. If so, I absolutely deserve criticism for my choices. We'll find out in a few years.
It's impossible to overstate how important free software is. A movement that began with a quest to work around a faulty printer is now our greatest defence against a world full of hostile actors. Without the ability to examine software, we can have no real faith that we haven't been put at risk by backdoors introduced through incompetence or malice. Without the freedom to modify software, we have no chance of updating it to deal with the new challenges that we face on a daily basis. Without the freedom to pass that modified software on to others, we are unable to help people who don't have the technical skills to protect themselves.
Free software isn't sufficient for building a trustworthy computing environment, one that not merely protects the user but respects the user. But it is necessary for that, and that's why I continue to evangelise on its behalf at every opportunity.
However.
Free software has a problem. It's natural to write software to satisfy our own needs, but in doing so we write software that doesn't provide as much benefit to people who have different needs. We need to listen to others, improve our knowledge of their requirements and ensure that they are in a position to benefit from the freedoms we espouse. And that means building diverse communities, communities that are inclusive regardless of people's race, gender, sexuality or economic background. Free software that ends up designed primarily to meet the needs of well-off white men is a failure. We do not improve the world by ignoring the majority of people in it. To do that, we need to listen to others. And to do that, we need to ensure that our community is accessible to everybody.
That's not the case right now. We are a community that is disproportionately male, disproportionately white, disproportionately rich. This is made strikingly obvious by looking at the composition of the FSF board, a body made up entirely of white men. In joining the board, I have perpetuated this. I do not bring new experiences. I do not bring an understanding of an entirely different set of problems. I do not serve as an inspiration to groups currently under-represented in our communities. I am, in short, a hypocrite.
So why did I do it? Why have I joined an organisation whose founder I publicly criticised for making sexist jokes in a conference presentation? I'm afraid that my answer may not seem convincing, but in the end it boils down to feeling that I can make more of a difference from within than from outside. I am now in a position to ensure that the board never forgets to consider diversity when making decisions. I am in a position to advocate for programs that build us stronger, more representative communities. I am in a position to take responsibility for our failings and try to do better in future.
People can justifiably conclude that I'm making excuses, and I can make no argument against that other than to be asked to be judged by my actions. I hope to be able to look back at my time with the FSF and believe that I helped make a positive difference. But maybe this is hubris. Maybe I am just perpetuating the status quo. If so, I absolutely deserve criticism for my choices. We'll find out in a few years.
Re: Changing from bottom-up
Date: 2014-11-01 04:08 pm (UTC)I only quoted you once. With quotes and all.
I, in order to present a counterargument to your opinion on what the most urgent task for the FSF is by quoting RMS and a couple of long-time developers of a free software project that have been badly affected by a program that works in a way similar to what I quoted you for.
You're saying that nothing matters as much as getting as many new people as you can to feel welcome in the community, and I'm quoting RMS to say that, if someone isn't inclined to free software, overreaching to make them feel welcome is a waste of time (in RMS' words) and can alienate the existing community (in mine).
>as evidence to accuse me of something, which doesn't make sense.
I'm paraphrasing Richard Stallman and presenting a couple of arguments in order to counter your argument. How can it make no sense if I'm showing proof of such an alienation?
>You've also not presented a logical argument of how my outreach to underrepresented groups can possibly alienate existing software freedom activists.
I gave you two links.
>At best, your argument suggests that my actions are encouraging you *personally* to not participate in Free Software anymore.
Not at all. Said actions would encourage me *personally* to stop directly supporting the FSF, but that doesn't mean I will stop developing free software and giving talks on it (though now discouraging support to the FSF unless whoever supports it wants their support to go to something that has nothing to do with freedom of speech applied to software development).
And anyway, my previous comment doesn't say anything about me personally. Let me quote myself: "Does making someone feel like this https://lwn.net/Articles/608892/ or this http://blogs.gnome.org/tvb/2014/09/12/im-looking-at-you/ sound like something that welcomes the continued support of its existing userbase?"
I didn't write those.
>You haven't listed your contributions, but I suspect software freedom won't be missing much if my outreach to others inadvertantly causes you to leave the Free Software community. In fact, you've presented no evidence that you're involved in Free Software at all.
I've developed free software heavily since 2005. Funded my city's LUG and my country's annual FOSS conference too. But that doesn't matter anyway. This isn't a dick waving contest, how much I've collaborated shouldn't matter. Any collaborator is as good as the next one, and anyone with a bit of common sense can see that retaining existing collaborators is more important than getting new ones.
What I'm saying is that, by taking actions in order to further an agenda that has little or nothing to do with the FSF's stated mission without considering how said actions will affect the people who currently work happily on free software, you're risking much more than what would be risked if you did nothing.
And while your opinion won't make me stop developing and advocating free software because I love it, when you say stuff like "software freedom won't be missing much if my outreach to others inadvertantly causes you to leave the Free Software community", you could very easily make someone with a skin that isn't as thick (or considerations of someone with such opinions as dismissive) as mine to feel underappreciated, and for them to decide to leave.
You're mistreating your current userbase (being that you're mistreating me by implying I don't matter, and being that I'm part of your current userbase), and nothing good can come off that.