Re: [libreplanet-discuss] Amusing Free Software Story

[Michael Siepmann]

On 03/17/2015 01:13 PM, Patrick Anderson wrote:
>> It boggles my mind that
>> these simple and so important ideas about software and freedom, which are so
>> obvious to me, are so far out of the reach of so many people.
> It boggles my mind that we refuse to acknowledge most people *already*
> understand the term "Free Software" to mean "Freeware".
>
> Why are we so damn stubborn about such an unimportant detail that
> almost instantaneously causes nearly universal confusion?
>
> Why not coin a new term to overcome that simple hurdle?
>
> I propose the term "Freedom Software".  It is more descriptive
> and will likely even create a certain amount of curiosity.
>
> As it is, we are trying to call a rose a cabbage and wondering
> why nobody gets it...
>
> Sincerely,
> Patrick Anderson
> Economic Systems Engineer
> http://CrossCrowdPredictiveProduction.github.io

This is the same phenomenon as software developers creating user
interfaces that make perfect sense to them, but confuse and frustrate
non-geek users.  The solution is also the same:  User-centered design,
both as a methodology and as a state of mind.  The essential first step
sounds easy but is really very challenging: Acknowledging how little we
actually know about how other people experience and understand the world
we share with them.  (An article I wrote on this is at
http://techdesignpsych.com/thoughts/articles/)

Michael Siepmann, Ph.D.
The Tech Design Psychologist™
Make your technology more supportive™
303-835-0501   TechDesignPsych.com   OpenPGP: 6D65A4F7