#, fuzzy msgid "" msgstr "" "Project-Id-Version: 006_copyleft-pandemic 1.0\n" "Report-Msgid-Bugs-To: Nika Zhenya \n" "POT-Creation-Date: 2020-04-08 00:02-0500\n" "Last-Translator: Nika Zhenya \n" "MIME-Version: 1.0\n" "Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8\n" "Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit\n" #: content/md/006_copyleft-pandemic.js:1 msgid "# The Copyleft Pandemic" msgstr "" #: content/md/006_copyleft-pandemic.js:2 msgid "" "It seems that we needed a global pandemic for publishers to finally give " "open access. I guess we should say… thanks?" msgstr "" #: content/md/006_copyleft-pandemic.js:4 msgid "" "In my opinion it was a good +++PR+++ maneuver, who doesn't like companies " "when they do _good_? This pandemic has shown its capacity to fortify public " "and private institutions, no matter how poorly they have done their job and " "how these new policies are normalizing surveillance. But who cares, I can " "barely make a living publishing books and I have never been involved in " "government work." msgstr "" #: content/md/006_copyleft-pandemic.js:10 msgid "" "An interesting side effect about this “kind” and _temporal_ openness is " "about authorship. One of the most relevant arguments in favor of " "intellectual property (+++IP+++) is the defense of authors' rights to make a " "living with their work. The utilitarian and labor justifications of +++IP+++ " "are very clear in that sense. For the former, +++IP+++ laws confer an " "incentive for cultural production and, thus, for the so-called creation of " "wealth. For the latter, author's “labour of his body, and the work of his " "hands, we may say, are properly his.”" msgstr "" #: content/md/006_copyleft-pandemic.js:19 msgid "" "But also in personal-based justifications the author is a primordial subject " "for +++IP+++ laws. Actually, this justification wouldn't exist if the author " "didn't have an intimate and qualitatively distinctive relationship with her " "own work. Without some metaphysics or theological conceptions about cultural " "production, this special relation is difficult to prove---but that is " "another story." msgstr "" #: content/md/006_copyleft-pandemic.js:25 msgid "" "![Locke and Hegel drinking tea while discussing several topics on " "Nothingland…](../../../img/p006_i001.png)" msgstr "" #: content/md/006_copyleft-pandemic.js:26 msgid "" "From copyfight, copyleft and copyfarleft movements, a lot of people have " "argued that this argument hides the fact that most authors can't make a " "living, whereas publishers and distributors profit a lot. Some critics claim " "governments should give more power to “creators” instead of allowing " "“reproducers” to do whatever they want. I am not a fan of this way of doing " "things because I don't think anyone should have more power, including " "authors, and also because in my world government is synonymous with " "corruption and death. But diversity of opinions is important, I just hope " "not all governments are like that." msgstr "" #: content/md/006_copyleft-pandemic.js:36 msgid "" "So between copyright, copyfight, copyleft and copyfarleft defenders there is " "usually a mysterious assent about producer relevance. The disagreement comes " "with how this overview about cultural production is or should translate into " "policies and legislation." msgstr "" #: content/md/006_copyleft-pandemic.js:40 msgid "" "In times of emergency and crisis we are seeing how easily it is to “pause” " "those discussions and laws---or fast track [other ones](https://www." "theguardian.com/technology/2020/mar/06/us-internet-bill-seen-as-opening-shot-" "against-end-to-end-encryption). On the side of governments this again shows " "how copyright and authors' rights aren't natural laws nor are they grounded " "beyond our political and economic systems. From the side of copyright " "defenders, this phenomena makes it clear that authorship is an argument that " "doesn't rely on the actual producers, cultural phenomena or world issues… " "And it also shows that there are [librarians](https://blog.archive." "org/2020/03/30/internet-archive-responds-why-we-released-the-national-" "emergency-library) and [researchers](https://www.latimes.com/business/" "story/2020-03-03/covid-19-open-science) fighting in favor of public " "interests; +++AKA+++, how important libraries and open access are today and " "how they can't be replaced by (online) bookstores or subscription-based " "research." msgstr "" #: content/md/006_copyleft-pandemic.js:53 msgid "" "I would find it very pretentious if [some authors](https://www.authorsguild." "org/industry-advocacy/internet-archives-uncontrolled-digital-lending) and " "[some publishers](https://publishers.org/news/comment-from-aap-president-and-" "ceo-maria-pallante-on-the-internet-archives-national-emergency-library) " "didn't agree with this _temporal_ openness of their work. But let's not miss " "the point: this global pandemic has shown how easily it is for publishers " "and distributors to opt for openness or paywalls---who cares about the " "authors?… So next time you defend copyright as authors' rights to make a " "living, think twice, only few have been able to earn a livelihood, and while " "you think you are helping them, you are actually making third parties richer." msgstr "" #: content/md/006_copyleft-pandemic.js:62 msgid "" "In the end the copyright holders are not the only ones who defend their " "interests by addressing the importance of people---in their case the " "authors, but more generally and secularly the producers. The copyleft " "holders---a kind of cool copyright holder that hacked copyright laws---also " "defends their interest in a similar way, but instead of authors, they talk " "about users and instead of profits, they supposedly defend freedom." msgstr "" #: content/md/006_copyleft-pandemic.js:69 msgid "" "There is a huge difference between each of them, but I just want to denote " "how they talk about people in order to defend their interests. I wouldn't " "put them in the same sack if it wasn't because of these two issues." msgstr "" #: content/md/006_copyleft-pandemic.js:73 msgid "" "Some copyleft holders were so annoying in defending Stallman. _Dudes_, at " "least from here we don't reduce the free software movement to one person, no " "matter if he's the founder or how smart or important he is or was. " "Criticizing his actions wasn't synonymous with throwing away what this " "movement has done---what we have done!---, as a lot of you tried to mitigate " "the issue: “Oh, but he is not the movement, we shouldn't have made a big " "issue about that.” His and your attitude is the fucking issue. Together you " "have made it very clear how narrow both views are. Stallman fucked it up and " "was behaving very immaturely by thinking the movement is or was thanks to " "him---we also have our own stories about his behavior---, why don't we just " "accept that?" msgstr "" #: content/md/006_copyleft-pandemic.js:85 msgid "" "But I don't really care about him. For me and the people I work with, the " "free software movement is a wildcard that joins efforts related to " "technology, politics and culture for better worlds. Nevertheless, the +++FSF+" "++, the +++OSI+++, +++CC+++, and other big copyleft institutions don't seem " "to realize that a plurality of worlds implies a diversity of conceptions " "about freedom. And even worse, they have made a very common mistake when we " "talk about freedom: they forgot that “freedom wants to be free.”" msgstr "" #: content/md/006_copyleft-pandemic.js:93 msgid "" "Instead, they have tried to give formal definitions of software freedom. " "Don't get me wrong, definitions are a good way to plan and understand a " "phenomenon. But besides its formality, it is problematic to bind others to " "your own definitions, mainly when you say the movement is about and for them." msgstr "" #: content/md/006_copyleft-pandemic.js:98 msgid "" "Among all concepts, freedom is actually very tricky to define. How can you " "delimit a concept in a definition when the concept itself claims the " "inability of, perhaps, any restraint? It is not that freedom can't be " "defined---I am actually assuming a definition of freedom---, but about how " "general and static it could be. If the world changes, if people change, if " "the world is actually an array of worlds and if people sometimes behave one " "way or the other, of course the notion of freedom is gonna vary." msgstr "" #: content/md/006_copyleft-pandemic.js:107 msgid "" "With freedom's different meanings we could try to reduce its diversity so it " "could be embedded in any context or we could try something else. I dunno, " "maybe we could make software freedom an interoperable concept that fits each " "of our worlds or we could just stop trying to get a common principle." msgstr "" #: content/md/006_copyleft-pandemic.js:112 msgid "" "The copyleft institutions I mentioned and many other companies that are " "proud to support the copyleft movement tend to be blind about this. I am " "talking from my experiences, my battles and my struggles when I decided to " "use copyfarleft licenses in most parts of my work. Instead of receiving " "support from institutional representatives, I first received warnings: “That " "freedom you are talking about isn't freedom.” Afterwards, when I sought " "infrastructure support, I got refusals: “You are invited to use our code in " "your server, but we can't provide you hosting because your licenses aren't " "free.” Dawgs, if I could, I wouldn't look for your help in the first place, " "duh." msgstr "" #: content/md/006_copyleft-pandemic.js:123 msgid "" "Thanks to a lot of Latin American hackers and pirates, I am little by little " "building my and our own infrastructure. But I know this help is actually a " "privilege: for many years I couldn't execute many projects or ideas only " "because I didn't have access to the technology or tuition. And even worse, I " "wasn't able to look to a wider and more complex horizon without all this " "learning." msgstr "" #: content/md/006_copyleft-pandemic.js:129 msgid "" "(There is a pedagogical deficiency in the free software movement that makes " "people think that writing documentation and praising self-taught learning is " "enough. From my point of view, it is more about the production of a self-" "image in how a hacker or a pirate _should be_. Plus, it's fucking scary when " "you realize how manly, hierarchical and meritocratic this movement tends to " "be)." msgstr "" #: content/md/006_copyleft-pandemic.js:136 msgid "" "According to copyleft folks, my notion of software freedom isn't free " "because copyfarleft licenses prevents _people_ from using software. This is " "a very common criticism of any copyfarleft license. And it is also a very " "paradoxical one." msgstr "" #: content/md/006_copyleft-pandemic.js:140 msgid "" "Between the free software movement and open source initiative, there has " "been a disagreement about who ought to inherit the same type of license, " "like the General Public License. For the free software movement, this clause " "ensures that software will always be free. According to the open source " "initiative, this clause is actually a counter-freedom because it doesn't " "allow people to decide which license to use and it also isn't very " "attractive for enterprise entrepreneurship. Let's not forget that both sides " "agree that the market is are essential for technology development." msgstr "" #: content/md/006_copyleft-pandemic.js:150 msgid "" "Free software supporters tend to vanish the discussion by declaring that " "open source defenders don't understand the social implication of this " "hereditary clause or that they have different interests and ways to change " "technology development. So it's kind of paradoxical that these folks see the " "anti-capitalist clause of copyfarleft licenses as a counter-freedom. Or they " "don't understand its implications or perceive that copyfarleft doesn't talk " "about technology development in its insolation, but in its relationship with " "politics, society and economy." msgstr "" #: content/md/006_copyleft-pandemic.js:160 msgid "" "I won't defend copyfarleft against those criticisms. First, I don't think I " "should defend anything because I am not saying everyone should grasp our " "notion of freedom. Second, I have a strong opinion against the usual legal " "reductionism among this debate. Third, I think we should focus on the ways " "we can work together, instead of paying attention to what could divide us. " "Finally, I don't think these criticisms are wrong, but incomplete: the " "definition of software freedom has inherited the philosophical problem of " "how we define and what the definition of freedom implies." msgstr "" #: content/md/006_copyleft-pandemic.js:169 msgid "" "That doesn't mean I don't care about this discussion. Actually, it's a topic " "I'm very familiar with. Copyright has locked me out with paywalls for " "technology and knowledge access, copyleft has kept me away with " "“licensewalls” with the same effects. So let's take a moment to see how free " "the freedom is that the copyleft institutions are preaching." msgstr "" #: content/md/006_copyleft-pandemic.js:175 msgid "" "According to _Open Source Software & The Department of Defense_ (+++DoD+++), " "The +++U.S. DoD+++ is one of the biggest consumers of open source. To put it " "in perspective, all tactical vehicles of the +++U.S.+++ Army employs at " "least one piece of open source software in its programming. Other examples " "are _the use_ of Android to direct airstrikes or _the use_ of Linux for the " "ground stations that operates military drones like the Predator and Reaper." msgstr "" #: content/md/006_copyleft-pandemic.js:183 msgid "" "![A Reaper drone [incorrectly bombarding](https://www.theguardian.com/" "news/2019/nov/18/killer-drones-how-many-uav-predator-reaper) civilians in " "Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Syria and Yemen in order to deliver +++U.S. DoD+" "++ notion of freedom.](../../../img/p006_i002.png)" msgstr "" #: content/md/006_copyleft-pandemic.js:184 msgid "" "Before you argue that this is a problem about open source software and not " "free software, you should check out the +++DoD+++ [+++FAQ+++ section]" "(https://dodcio.defense.gov/Open-Source-Software-FAQ). There, they define " "open source software as “software for which the human-readable source code " "is available for use, study, re-use, modification, enhancement, and re-" "distribution by the users of that software.” Does that sound familiar? Of " "course!, they include +++GPL+++ as an open software license and they even " "rule that “an open source software license must also meet the +++GNU+++ Free " "Software Definition.”" msgstr "" #: content/md/006_copyleft-pandemic.js:194 msgid "" "This report was published in 2016 by the Center for a New American Security " "(+++CNAS+++), a right-wing think tank which [mission and agenda](https://www." "cnas.org/mission) is “designed to shape the choices of leaders in the +++U.S." "+++ government, the private sector, and society to advance +++U.S.+++ " "interests and strategy.”" msgstr "" #: content/md/006_copyleft-pandemic.js:199 msgid "" "I found this report after I read about how the [+++U.S.+++ Army scrapped one " "billion dollars for its “Iron Dome” after Israel refused to share code]" "(https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-army-scraps-1b-iron-dome-project-after-" "israel-refuses-to-provide-key-codes). I found it interesting that even the " "so-called most powerful army in the world was disabled by copyright laws---a " "potential resource for asymmetric warfare. To my surprise, this isn't an " "anomaly." msgstr "" #: content/md/006_copyleft-pandemic.js:206 msgid "" "The intention of +++CNAS+++ report is to convince +++DoD+++ to adopt more " "open source software because its “generally better than their proprietary " "counterparts […] because they can _take advantage_ of the brainpower of " "larger teams, which leads to faster innovation, higher quality, and superior " "security for _a fraction of the cost_.” This report has its origins by the " "“justifiably” concern “about the erosion of +++U.S.+++ military technical " "superiority.”" msgstr "" #: content/md/006_copyleft-pandemic.js:214 msgid "" "Who would think that this could happen to +++FOSS+++? Well, all of us from " "this part of the world have been saying that the type of freedom endorsed by " "many copyleft institutions is too wide, counterproductive for its own " "objectives and, of course, inapplicable for our context because that liberal " "notion of software freedom relies on strong institutions and the capacity of " "own property or capitalize knowledge. The same ones which have been trying " "to explain that the economic models they try to “teach” us don't work or we " "doubt them because of their side effects. Crowdfunding isn't easy here " "because our cultural production is heavily dependent on government aids and " "policies, instead of the private or public sectors. And donations aren't a " "good idea because of the hidden interests they could have and the economic " "dependence they generate." msgstr "" #: content/md/006_copyleft-pandemic.js:227 msgid "" "But I guess it has to burst their bubble in order to get the point across. " "For example, the Epstein controversial donations to +++MIT+++ Media Lab and " "his friendship with some folks of +++CC+++; or the use of open source " "software by the +++U.S.+++ Immigration and Customs Enforcement. While for " "decades +++FOSS+++ has been a mechanism to facilitate the murder of “Global " "South” citizens; a tool for Chinese labor exploitation denounced by the " "anti-996 movement; a licensewall for technological and knowledge access for " "people who can't afford infrastructure and the learning it triggers, even " "though the code is “free” _to use_; or a police of software freedom that " "denies Latin America and other regions their right to self-determinate its " "freedom, its software policies and its economic models." msgstr "" #: content/md/006_copyleft-pandemic.js:240 msgid "" "Those copyleft institutions that care so much about “user freedoms” actually " "haven't been explicit about how +++FOSS+++ is helping shape a world where a " "lot of us don't fit in. It had to be right-wing think tanks, the ones that " "declare the relevance of +++FOSS+++ for warfare, intelligence, security and " "authoritarian regimes, while these institutions have been making many " "efforts in justifying its way of understanding cultural production as a " "commodification of its political capacity. They have shown that in their " "pursuit of government and corporate adoption of +++FOSS+++, when it favors " "their interests, they talk about “software user freedoms” but actually refer " "to “freedom of use software”, no matter who the user is or what it has been " "used for." msgstr "" #: content/md/006_copyleft-pandemic.js:252 msgid "" "There is a sort of cognitive dissonance that influences many copyleft " "supporters to treat others harshly, those who just want some aid in the " "argument over which license or product is free or not. But in the meantime, " "they don't defy, and some of them even embrace the adoption of +++FOSS+++ " "for any kind of corporation, it doesn't matter if it exploits its employees, " "surveils its users, helps to undermine democratic institutions or is part of " "a killing machine." msgstr "" #: content/md/006_copyleft-pandemic.js:260 msgid "" "In my opinion, the term “use” is one of the key concepts that dilutes " "political capacity of +++FOSS+++ into the aestheticization of its activity. " "The spine of software freedom relies in its four freedoms: the freedoms of " "_run_, _study_, _redistribute_ and _improve_ the program. Even though " "Stallman, his followers, the +++FSF+++, the +++OSI+++, +++CC+++ and so on " "always indicate the relevance of “user freedoms,” these four freedoms aren't " "directly related to users. Instead, they are four different use cases." msgstr "" #: content/md/006_copyleft-pandemic.js:269 msgid "" "The difference isn't a minor thing. A _use case_ neutralizes and reifies the " "subject of the action. In its dilution the interest of the subject becomes " "irrelevant. The four freedoms don't ban the use of a program for selfish, " "slayer or authoritarian uses. Neither do they encourage them. By the " "romantic idea of a common good, it is easy to think that the freedoms of " "run, study, redistribute and improve a program are synonymous with a " "mechanism that improves welfare and democracy. But because these four " "freedoms don't relate to any user interest and instead talk about the " "interest of using software and the adoption of an “open” cultural " "production, it hides the fact that the freedom of use sometimes goes against " "and uses subjects." msgstr "" #: content/md/006_copyleft-pandemic.js:281 msgid "" "So the argument that copyfarleft denies people the use of software only " "makes sense between two misconceptions. First, the personification of " "institutions---like the ones that feed authoritarian regimes, perpetuate " "labor exploitation or surveil its users---with their policies sometimes " "restricting freedom or access _to people_. Second, the assumption that " "freedoms over software use cases is equal to the freedom of its users." msgstr "" #: content/md/006_copyleft-pandemic.js:288 msgid "" "Actually, if your “open” economic model requires software use cases freedoms " "over users freedoms, we are far beyond the typical discussions about " "cultural production. I find it very hard to defend my support of freedom if " "my work enables some uses that could go against others' freedoms. This is of " "course the freedom dilemma about the [paradox of tolerance](https://en." "wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradox_of_tolerance). But my main conflict is when " "copyleft supporters boast about their defense of users freedoms while they " "micromanage others' software freedom definitions and, in the meantime, they " "turn their backs to the gray, dark or red areas of what is implicit in the " "freedom they safeguard. Or they don't care about us or their privileges " "don't allow them to have empathy." msgstr "" #: content/md/006_copyleft-pandemic.js:300 msgid "" "Since the _+++GNU+++ Manifesto_ the relevance of industry among software " "developers is clear. I don't have a reply that could calm them down. It is " "becoming more clear that technology isn't just a broker that can be used or " "abused. Technology, or at least its development, is a kind of political " "praxis. The inability of legislation for law enforcement and the possibility " "of new technologies to hold and help the _statu quo_ express this political " "capacity of information and communications technologies." msgstr "" #: content/md/006_copyleft-pandemic.js:308 msgid "" "So as copyleft hacked copyright law, with copyfarleft we could help " "disarticulate structural power or we could induce civil disobedience. By " "prohibiting our work from being used by military, police or oligarchic " "institutions, we could force them to stop _taking advantage_ and increase " "their maintenance costs. They could even reach a point where they couldn't " "operate anymore or at least they couldn't be as affective as our communities." msgstr "" #: content/md/006_copyleft-pandemic.js:315 msgid "" "I know it sounds like a utopia because in practice we need the effort of a " "lot of people involved in technology development. But we already did it " "once: we used copyright law against itself and we introduced a new model of " "workforce distribution and means of production. We could again use copyright " "for our benefit, but now against the structures of power that surveils, " "exploits and kills people. These institutions need our “brainpower,” we can " "try by refusing their use. Some explorations could be software licenses that " "explicitly ban surveillance, exploitation or murder." msgstr "" #: content/md/006_copyleft-pandemic.js:324 msgid "" "We could also make it difficult for them to thieve our technology " "development and deny access to our communication networks. Nowadays +++FOSS++" "+ distribution models have confused open economy with gift economy. Another " "think tank---Centre of Economics and Foreign Policy Studies---published a " "report---_Digital Open Source Intelligence Security: A Primer_---where it " "states that open sources constitutes “at least 90%” of all intelligence " "activities. That includes our published open production and the open " "standards we develop for transparency. It is why end-to-end encryption is " "important and why we should extend its use instead of allowing governments " "to ban it." msgstr "" #: content/md/006_copyleft-pandemic.js:335 msgid "" "Copyleft could be a global pandemic if we don't go against its incorporation " "inside virulent technologies of destruction. We need more organization so " "that the software we are developing is free as in “social freedom,” not only " "as in “free individual.” " msgstr ""