Posted by: Anonymous Coward
on February 18, 2004 05:16 AM
Joe's article is an interesting perspective on WSIS.
IMHO the WSIS declaration of principles is quite fair in stating that affordable software is an important component of an inclusive information society (declaration 27).
I do not agree that the use of the word "an" was intended to (or actually does) injure the FOSS cause. The beginning of paragraph 27 actually seems to support FOSS "to enable all users to develop solutions which best meet their requirements" as quoted below.
27. Access to information and knowledge can be promoted by increasing awareness among all stakeholders of the possibilities offered by different software models, including proprietary, open-source and free software, in order to increase competition, access by users, diversity of choice, and to enable all users to develop solutions which best meet their requirements. Affordable access to software should be considered as an important component of a truly inclusive Information Society.
Perhaps some examples of other important components of an information society are:
electricity (or generally power sources), connectivity, literacy, human computer interface, desire to participate (through interesting content, meaningful apps, etc).
To appreciate why affordable software is only 'a' component..., picture a rural African village whose inhabitants only speak a language spoken by very few other people on this earth (a few thousands or less) and are not connected to any electricity grid, have no telephones and no computing devices.
Now picture a blind person in this village to understand 'true' exclusion from the info society.
FOSS can play a big role in including these people into the info society if those other components are also addressed.
The statements on "intellectual property" in the declaration should perhaps have been strengthened to "intellectual property rights" instead.
This would have emphasized that there are a variety of property rights such as access, ownership, control and so forth and that not all rights need to be reserved. Water rights, for instance, are not necessarily about ownership but rather about access and usage. I think there are various OSS licences that provide a fair balance between protection and access of Intellectual Property.
In this regard, the statements in the declaration about Intellectual Property are a step in the right direction because they seem to recognise these variety of rights as expressed in the meaningful intro to the statement which offended Joe Barr (quoted below).
42. Intellectual Property protection is important to encourage innovation and creativity in the Information Society; similarly, the wide dissemination, diffusion, and sharing of knowledge is important to encourage innovation and creativity. Facilitating meaningful participation by all in intellectual property issues and knowledge sharing through full awareness and capacity building is a fundamental part of an inclusive Information Society.
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affordable software is ONLY a component
Posted by: Anonymous Coward on February 18, 2004 05:16 AMIMHO the WSIS declaration of principles is quite fair in stating that affordable software is an important component of an inclusive information society (declaration 27).
I do not agree that the use of the word "an" was intended to (or actually does) injure the FOSS cause. The beginning of paragraph 27 actually seems to support FOSS "to enable all users to develop solutions which best meet their requirements" as quoted below.
Perhaps some examples of other important components of an information society are:
electricity (or generally power sources), connectivity, literacy, human computer interface, desire to participate (through interesting content, meaningful apps, etc).
To appreciate why affordable software is only 'a' component..., picture a rural African village whose inhabitants only speak a language spoken by very few other people on this earth (a few thousands or less) and are not connected to any electricity grid, have no telephones and no computing devices.
Now picture a blind person in this village to understand 'true' exclusion from the info society.
FOSS can play a big role in including these people into the info society if those other components are also addressed.
The statements on "intellectual property" in the declaration should perhaps have been strengthened to "intellectual property rights" instead.
This would have emphasized that there are a variety of property rights such as access, ownership, control and so forth and that not all rights need to be reserved. Water rights, for instance, are not necessarily about ownership but rather about access and usage. I think there are various OSS licences that provide a fair balance between protection and access of Intellectual Property.
In this regard, the statements in the declaration about Intellectual Property are a step in the right direction because they seem to recognise these variety of rights as expressed in the meaningful intro to the statement which offended Joe Barr (quoted below).
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