RMS, Free Software Movement and Drupal... NYCcamp

Posted by freescholar on July 24, 2015 at 6:23pm

So, what happened???.... The FreeScholar in me got really tired of hearing developers that are excited about some proprietary solutions/tools that happen to work with Drupal. Some of these solutions are being touted as the way to go in the future. I believe that our community has no shortage of genius, creative minds and brilliant ideas, so I encourage us all to think deeply about the tools we use and our personal freedoms.

About 2 months ago, I invited Richard Stallman to our monthly meetup at MIT. I wanted him to meet the Drupal community and take a look at how we work together on projects that are dear to our hearts, helpful to our communities and good for society- we make things happen. He gave a short lightning talk about free software and hardware, then we had a Q and A with him. Many of us got a better understanding of what his mission is and how we can be a part of the educational outreach for fsf.org. Learning to explain how free software is key to autonomy, privacy and human rights, is a big help for the movement.

Next, I invited RMS to NYCcamp... On Saturday July 18th, he gave the keynote speech to a packed house at the United Nations - http://nyccamp.org/keynote/2015-keynote. After the keynote and standing ovation, he connected with the Aegir team and began a discussion on web hosting platforms and free server tools which led to a larger group convening at a strategy session with the Aegir team lead, Chris Gervais and RMS. They led an engaging round table discussion with about 30 people - http://nyccamp.org/session/aegir-strategy-session-richard-stallman-and-c...

What an excellent time - your voice and thoughts are needed, let's free our future with free software as the foundation.

I love Drupal almost as much as I love freedom.

Comments

Great work, Micky - having

Posted by rszrama on July 26, 2015 at 2:57am

Great work, Micky - having him address the conference was very special, possibly the best of the speakers I've heard at any Drupal conference.

Thanks!

Posted by stevepurkiss (not verified) on July 27, 2015 at 5:26pm

Thanks Micky, RMS speaking at a Drupal event, and in the UN building! I'm gutted I couldn't attend :(

It was a pleasure meeting you at the coop BoF and to find out more about the good work you're doing over there, I learned a lot & look forward to our cooperation in the future!

thanks !

Posted by lujekalek on August 12, 2015 at 6:19am

It was very nice meeteing, now i know more than early !

Powerful. The future is now.

Posted by mike stewart on August 17, 2015 at 12:41am

...I encourage us all to think deeply about the tools we use and our personal freedoms.

... let's free our future with free software as the foundation.

I can only hope our community takes it to heart. The two quotes above have huge implications.

Start now. Adopt the use of other open source tools for your toolbox, not just Drupal. Plan how you can quit using proprietary hardware (Apple, I'm looking at you).

Were any of the sessions recorded?

--
mike stewart { twitter: @MediaDoneRight | IRC nick: mike stewart }