BLUG Why Share 2008

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Why Share Your Source?: High Priority Free Software and Culture Projects

Why do thousands of people around the world work tirelessly, oftentimes unpaid, hours contributing software and content to the world through free/libre and open source (FLOSS) projects? How is that seconds after Obama is elected, his Wikipedia entry is updated freely by a swarm of volunteers around the world?

This presentation examines the rationale beyond “feel good magic” of why people contribute time freely in the FLOSS and free culture movements. Jon Phillips discusses the reasoning behind contributing to large scale collaborative projects by first discussing his own past and current involvements with Creative Commons, Open Clip Art Library, Open Font Library and Inkscape in order to open up discussion about how and why people contribute to FLOSS and free culture projects. The presentation closes with a discussion about the highest priority free software and cultural projects important for the world and china.

The ultimate goal for the presentation is to have a discussion with all participants in order to examine why we contribute and what we feel the highest priority projects are for ourselves, china and the world.

Time: 7pm
Date: Tuesday, November 11th, 2008
Location: Traktirr Russian Restaurant, 5-15 DonZhiMen NeiDaJie,DongZhiMen west of DongZhiMen subway
Phone: 8407-8158
Map: here

Structure

Why Share Source?
- How I Got into OSS? Dislike for LUGs. You guys fixed it!
- Obama Wikipedia page updated seconds after election
- Obama! Obama! Obama!
- Show Page of edit
- Why do we do it? Selfishly ask yourself the question!

My Reasoning
- Inkscape
- OCAL
- open source to open content
- CC
- doing open content big
- ccHost -> OFLB
- source for building open content
- Why again?

Why do others share source and content?
- Is it because job told us to do it?
- Is it for social change, self-serving, OCD, or other reason?
- Is sharing source different from sharing content?
- Because we are independently wealthy?
- Evil Offset?
- Altruistic
  - selfless concern for others
- Self-Satisfying
  - Makes us feel better
  - helps us to get a job
  - fame credit
  - reputation)
- Ethical
  - Fight evil technology company?
- Social
  - Helps us make friends?

High Priority Projects
- FSF High Priority
- Autonomo.us High Priority
  - http://autonomo.us/wiki/Wish_list
  - Google Office Suite (GMail, GDocs, etc)
  - Social Network (Walled Gardens Must Die)
- Free Culture High Priority?
  - Wikipedia GFDL/CC BY-SA Compatibility
  - http://wiki.creativecommons.org/Developer_Challenges
  - Famous Adopters (Musician, Artists, Filmmakers)
  - More Businesses using
  - Registries (Open Library, etc)
- What are China's high priority projects?
- What are your high priority projects?