Presented by:

Human. Problem-solver. Friend. Tinkerer. Aikido practitioner. Idealist (within reason). Aspiring imperfectionist. Musician.

Co-founder at Snowdrift.coop. Maintainer of Red Moon; contributor to the F-Droid ecosystem. GNU/Linux user and FLOSS advocate since 2010.

Programmer ("Software Engineer") looking for work near Queens, NYC (or remote). Contact: seagl-bio-2021@smichel.me

The Free Software movement's ideals are egalitarian. We aim to bring the benefits of computing freedom to all users. However, we often overlook an uncomfortable inequality: Software Freedom disproportionately empowers programmers and those wealthy enough to hire them.

For today's average "end users", freedomware leaves them with basically the same options as proprietary freeware: use it as-is, or politely ask the developer and hope for the best. In my opinion, this is a key reason why it's difficult to convince the wider public to care; it's why Software Freedom largely remains a movement by and for programmers.

In this talk, I'll argue that:

  • Programming education policy is the most important area for Software Freedom advocacy.

  • Designing for "nontechnical users" is an existential threat to Free Software.

  • Scriptable interfaces are a great way to make software more accessible to tech-illiterate users.

Date:
2021 November 6 - 15:30
Duration:
30 min
Room:
Room 2
Conference:
SeaGL 2021
Language:
Track:
Tech Culture
Difficulty:
Easy

Happening at the same time:

  1. Expressive Security
  2. Start Time:
    2021 November 6 15:30

    Room:
    Room 1

  3. Your bug tracker and you
  4. Start Time:
    2021 November 6 15:30

    Room:
    Room 3