[LHC] Fwd: Why hackathons should insist on free software

[Thiago Marinello]

Mensagem muito oportuna em meio a tantos eventos do tipo que proliferam por
aí.


— Thiago Marinello

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Richard Stallman" <info at fsf.org>
Date: Sep 14, 2017 00:38
Subject: Why hackathons should insist on free software
To: "Thiago Paulino Cesar" <thiago at marinello.eng.br>
Cc:

[image: Free Software Foundation]

*Read online: https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/hackathons.html
<https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/hackathons.html>*

Dear Thiago Paulino Cesar,

Hackathons are an accepted method of giving community support to digital
development projects. The community invites developers to join an event
which offers an encouraging atmosphere, some useful resources, and the
opportunity to work on useful projects. Most hackathons choose the projects
they will support, based on stated criteria.

Hackathons fit the spirit of a community in which people take an attitude
of cooperation and respect towards each other. The software that accords
with this spirit is free (libre) software, free as in freedom
<https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html>. Free software carries a
license that gives its users (including programmers) freedom to cooperate.
Thus, hackathons make sense within the free software community. Hardware
design projects <https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-hardware-designs.html>
also can and ought to be free.

Respect for freedom can't be taken for granted. On the contrary, we are
surrounded by companies that shamelessly release proprietary (nonfree)
software, available for use only to those that will yield to their power.
These companies develop software as a means to dominate and control others
<https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-software-even-more-important.html>.

These companies' harmful success inspires young developers to follow their
example by developing their own programs or hardware designs to dominate
users. They sometimes bring their projects to hackathons, seeking the
community's support while rejecting the community's spirit: they have no
intention of returning cooperation for cooperation. Hackathons which accept
this undermine the community spirit that they are based on.

Some perverse hackathons are specifically dedicated to aiding the computing
of certain companies: in some cases, European
<https://www.beyondhackathon.com/en> and Canadian banks
<http://www.hackathon.io/rbc-digital>, and Expedia
<https://expediaconnectivity.com/blog#madrid-hackathon-winners>. While they
don't explicitly say, the announcements give the impression that they aim
to promote development of some nonfree software, and that attendees are
meant to help these non-charitable projects.

Those examples show how far down the slope hackathons can slide. Let's
return to the more common case of a hackathon that is not specifically
commercial, but accepts projects that are proprietary.

When a developer brings a project to a hackathon, and doesn't say whether
it will be free, that is not overt opposition to the community spirit, but
it undermines that spirit. Hackathons should strengthen the community
spirit they are based on, by insisting that hackathon projects commit to
release in accord with that spirit.

This means telling developers, "So that you deserve our support and help,
you must agree to give the community the use of your project's results in
freedom, if you ever consider them good enough to use or release."

As an individual hackathon participant, you can support this principle:
before joining in any hackathon project, ask, "What license will you
publish this under? I want to be sure this will be free (libre) before I
join in developing it." If the developers of the project say that they will
choose the license later, you could respond that you will choose later
whether to participate. Don't be shy -- if others hear this discussion,
they may decide to follow the same path.

To see which licenses are free licenses, see the GNU license list
<https://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html>. Most "open source"
licenses are free, but some open source licenses are nonfree because they
are too restrictive
<https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/open-source-misses-the-point.html>.

Firmness by individuals has an effect, but a policy of the hackathon itself
will have a bigger effect. Hackathons should ask each participating project
to pledge to follow this rule:

*If you ever release or use this code or design, you will release its
source code under a free (libre) license. If you distribute the code in
executable form, you will make that free (libre) also.*

Many hackathons are sponsored or hosted by schools, which is an additional
reason they should adopt this rule. Free software is a contribution to
public knowledge, while nonfree software withholds knowledge from the
public. Thus, free software supports the spirit of education, while
proprietary software opposes it
<https://www.gnu.org/education/edu-schools.html>. Schools should insist
that all their software development be free software, including that of
hackathons they support.

Happy Hacking,
Richard M. Stallman
President
Free Software Foundation

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