Re: [Fsuk-manchester] the non-free neighbour asking for help dilemma

[Mac]

Dave Crossland wrote:
> You are conflating freedom with convenience.
>
> It is morally bad for him to choose to run proprietary software, even
> if it's very convenient, because they are giving up their freedom and
> that effects him (because he no longer the aspect of his life he uses
> the software for) and everyone else (because he promises not to share,
> and makes it less convenient for others to reject that software.)
>
> The best tool for the job is a free one.


Friends >>> I've been thinking about how RMS uses the important and 
serious word 'freedom' in relation to our use of computers, and what it 
really means to contrast 'freedom' with 'convenience' in this regard.

You see, I'm beginning to wonder whether using computers at all isn't 
more a matter of convenience than freedom.  (IIRC, when Gandhi died, he 
owned - besides his dhoti and shawl - a handkerchief, a pair of 
spectacles and a (paper) notebook.)

So, shouldn't the person we're discussing here just write a letter on 
paper, rather than assume we have a computer, or send us the 
calculations and graphs on paper, or send us a tape of the music he just 
composed?

In other words, do we want to argue that to use computers and the 
internet are, in themselves, moral imperatives, or a condition of human 
existence and spiritual progress, or the only route to freedom?

It seems to me that the 'moral problem' we're puzzling over is more to 
do with people making genuinely informed choices about things that are 
essentially a matter of convenience, but in full knowledge of the 
consequences -- to themselves and their community:  a bit like using a 
car, knowing that it emits carbon dioxide.  But, as others have said, 
what kind of 'freedom' are we arguing for if we assert that they must be 
prevented from making the 'wrong' choice?  (Though perhaps using 
aeroplanes to go on holiday may soon be forbidden by law!)

But if someone thoughtlessly sends us a Word file, and won't or can't 
offer us an alternative, we can phone him and ask him to print it and 
send it to us in an envelope.  Isn't asking for it as a .odf really a 
matter of our own convenience?

I'm seriously struggling with this, so I'm finding the discussion here 
really helpful (though I can see that folk have strong feelings;  so I 
hope we'll be able to pursue this topic without getting angry with each 
other).

Best wishes

Mac