-
Anything?
-
Yes? Okay.
-
Fine, then I’m skipping the thank-yous
-
so we don’t have to get back to it.
Okay, I was saying that what
-
I’m gonna try to talk about in a little while
is my personal vision of free software
-
which, therefore, doesn’t try to be
one of those thorough matters
-
about why free software may be
interesting to you or so,
-
but why it is interesting to me.
It may be similar to what's
-
interesting to you too.
And, in the end, if we have a little time
-
we can talk a bit about it.
The first slide is almost
-
mandatory, lest someone is still
up in the clouds
-
and still doesn't know what
free software is.
-
I guess there's no need now to
say that, nowadays, free software
-
is everywhere, you all know
you're carrying several millions
-
of free software code lines
in your pocket, right?
-
Yeah? Does everybody know?
And do you know where they are and so?
-
And do you know how to log in and so?
Careful, because if you don't,
-
someone does for sure, lest they
are logging in on your cell easily.
-
Okay, anyway, this is free software
and we have it everywhere.
-
Everytime we're using the Internet,
everytime we're using a cellphone,
-
everytime we're using a car,
probably a television.
-
you're using a lot of free software.
Maybe you've seen it and it got to you
-
as free, but at least, originally,
that software was free.
-
When software gets to you as free,
that is its definition, this is not
-
Jesus' definition and it's not accepted,
well, a little changed
-
so it's easier to understand, but
it's basically the commonly accepted
-
definition and for those who've heard
the English term, it's the same one
-
as "open source software" or so.
-
For Spanish, I tend to use
free software.
-
First off, you can use free software
as you please. It may sound silly,
-
but you know that exclusive or owner
software cannot always be used as you like
-
on devices of your choice. Sometimes,
there are time limitations, sometimes
-
you can use it on just one, sometimes
you can just use it for certain things.
-
Free software has to able to be used
in any way, if not, it's not free.
-
Second, you can redistribute it, copy it,
share it on the Internet,
-
give it away to someone or charge
them for it.
-
Careful, it's not said you can't charge for it
but you can redistribute it as you please,
-
without necessarily being the owner, obviously,
but he can do so as well, for sure.
-
Third, and it's one of the things on
which I'll focus today:
-
"You can modify it". You can change
it as you please,
-
typically to enhance it, many will
worsen it but you can do whatever
-
you want with it. You can adapt it...
anything.
-
Naturally, to do so, you have to count
with the necessary technical mecanisms,
-
which you know that, in the case of
compiled languages, for example it's the source code.
-
In the case of interpreted languages,
it's an eligible source code,
-
because interpreted languages can also
be made hard to edit.
-
And, last, you can redistribute the
modifications, which kind of makes it come full circle
-
and makes it all work with many mechanisms
that are combined.
-
And, obviously, it's said nowhere that free
software has to be free.
-
Maybe, in many cases, it gets to us free,
but it's not an essential condition.
-
There could be a software which was free
and cost you a million euros to get it.
-
So if you're later interested, we'll discuss those
details but it's not what I wanted to talk about today.
-
If you'd like to go deeper, those
two URLs down there
-
are the standard definitions.
The first one is by the Free Software Foundation,
-
and the second one is by the OSI,
the Open Source Initiative,
-
which handles the term 'open source' that,
as I was saying, at least concerning
-
all I'm going to talk about today,
is exactly equivalent to free software
-
in everything I'm going to discuss.
-
Okay, let's cut to the chase.
First, the thing is I'm splitting it
-
a bit into two different points of view.
One is the most professional, let's say,
-
which is very likely, I think, that I'll
share with many of you.
-
Then, it's the personal one and, being personal,
maybe we'll not share it that much.
-
The first one focuses on something very basic,
on this thing, the car's engine.
-
I'm one of those people who, when their
car stops, go and open up the hood, look at it and close it back
-
because I don't know anything about mechanics,
and call someone to come and help.
-
But you know there's people, this funny
people who like to oil themselves,
-
who go and take a look to what's inside,
start pulling out wires and pieces
-
and, sometimes, fix your engine.
-
The question is:
Can mechanics fix a car's engine?
-
And why can they do so?
-
Then one thinks "sure they can".
You open up the car and touch here and there
-
and you can touch anything.
Those of us who are computer technicians,
-
or work with stuff linked to computers and
know how to code, can fix programs.
-
The question is: can we do it?
We can but not just because we technically
-
have the necessary knowledge, but can we
do it because we're allowed
-
legally and technically? In other words,
if that Word you hate so much goes corrupt,
-
can you fix it? You say
"you're speaking nonsense,
-
how am I going to fix a program?"
There's people who'll even think:
-
"Jeez, we spend years in faculties
or schools studying precisely
-
how to make and fix programs".
But then it turns out you can't
-
because you're not given the programs
with the ways to be able to fix them.
-
To begin with, they come in binary,
you don't have the source code.
-
But, also, you legally can't.
You know that, legally, that thing
-
you see around, the license,
which we never ever read,
-
but you should sometime and you'll
have a blast, you grab a beer,
-
start reading, you have a laugh... and
you realize it states things such as you can't change
-
the program in any way, even if you paid
for it with your money, even if you're
-
daily using it and it has a tiny error you
could fix, because you know how to fix it,
-
it's from class 101 if such
thing still exists.
-
Note that that means we learn
for doing things
-
that later, in the real life,
we cannot make use of.
-
Free software changes that radically,
because in free software,
-
as you've seen before, I always need
to be given the technical mechanisms to change a program.
-
And as silly as it seems,
professionally it's a whole world.
-
It opens not just chances of business, because
you can make business out of solving problems
-
that others have because you know about it,
you have the knowledge.
-
Just as a mechanic knows how to fix cars,
and many mechanics make business and
-
do it for a living, fixing cars of
others who don't know how,
-
us, the people who know how to code
or know enough about computers,
-
to put it somehow, we could,
at least in theory, fix any program.
-
It's just a matter of knowledge and effort.
I mean, any human
-
who wants to go for it, has both things.
Knowledge can be acquired,
-
and about effort it's up to you
how much you put into it.
-
Just as any mechanic, at least theoretically,
can fix any breakdown
-
if you give him enough time and enough
engine manuals,
-
so should any computer technician be able
to fix any problem
-
if he has enough time for it
and the proper manuals or information.
-
But, again, in our profession we legally
can't do it in many cases
-
and neither technically, but not
because it's hard,
-
but because technical mechanisms
have been placed to prevent us from it.
-
They basically don't give us
the source code.
-
Note that in the free software world,
that does not happen,
-
hence the much bigger possibilities we have.
-
And, suddenly, we can do our jobs and
-
not just be, to put it somehow, consumers
-
or adapters of third-party products,
but we can directly work on it.
-
And if you're interested, for example,
in working on on-cloud software
-
then you can go and search on the Internet
for free products which are being installed
-
on big enterprises, and learn
how they're made and see their source code
-
and install it on your laptop if you please
or on a thousand computers if you're
-
working for a company that has a
thousand computers to install it on.
-
And, if any problem occurs, you can fix it
if you think you'd better do so or you
-
want to dedicate to it or you're being
paid for dedicating it the necessary effort.
-
And, careful, things are changing a lot.
-
We said mechanics can fix cars.
-
Nowadays, that's not so clear.
A modern car, of a high range,
-
has around 50 or 100 million
code lines.
-
To be clear, 50 or 100 million code lines
is serious business.
-
The ISS has between 5 and 10 million
code lines that make
-
every system of the ISS work.
Although, on the other hand,
-
a slightly modern TV probably has
around 10 million code lines
-
without the kernel, because almost
all of them have Linux, which has 5 million by itself.
-
Therefore, well, it looks like a lot of lines
but they're really not so many.
-
But what it really does mean is that
if I don't have access to the car's software,
-
I'll probably won't be able to fix it.
Typical issue: I own a kind of modern car
-
and it stops and first thing
I have to do is put it
-
in the diagnosis machine from the manufacturer
which connects with the car's software,
-
which has made a diagnosis,
to see what's happening to it.
-
If I don't have any access to both things,
I can hardly go further.
-
because most of things that have anything
to do with the software is not
-
working properly in God knows which part:
gasoline is not being pumped how it should,
-
it's not slowing down properly or
it shouldn't be doing whatever.
-
So, not long from now,
being able to fix our car
-
or that a mechanic can fix our car
will have to do with
-
how that car's software is,
and it's already happening, as I said
-
Until the point where models are starting
to being planned out where the car
-
is not sold to us and, hence is not
even ours, not even the software
-
it has is ours, they give us a license of use
for the car.
-
As it widely happens with the Teslas,
if anyone's been interested in looking them up.
-
So, in fact, funny things start happening,
-
like my car did certain things,
I took it to the dealer's for a check,
-
I get it back and it does different things
because they changed its software,
-
they installed a new release of the software
that now does other things.
-
And, suddenly, it turns out the pumping
works differently or, if it's electric,
-
the acceleration works differently,
or the locking of the doors
-
or any other detail you can think of.
And remember that, at this very moment,
-
cars are starting to learn how to make
decisions all by themselves,
-
and, at a given time, they'll have
to choose between "I brake and kill the pilot"
-
or "I don't brake and kill the guy on the street",
and you're the pilot.
-
So think about if knowing how
that software works is of interest to us or not.
-
This is not theoretical, there are already
cars which are doing it,
-
which are being tested on the streets
of many cities around the world.
-
But note how, what was first
the mechanic's analogy, becomes
-
to people who know about computers,
to put it somehow,
-
in the reality of future, and that you
can apply it to any device you want.
-
So, using or not free software
from a professional point of view
-
becomes something fundamental
and completely basic.
-
If I use free software, I can understand
devices, programs, systems
-
I'm working with because if I'd like, I can take a look at their source code and, above all,
-
I can collaborate with other people who
are interested in the same and we can document it,
-
understand it, learn a lot from that code.
-
Note that, in many cases,
in computing faculties and schools
-
we're asking people to learn how to code
without having seen programs.
-
Let's say we asked architects to learn
how to make buildings without
-
ever having seen actual buildings.
Not some shack I've built
-
in some kind of practice,
but an actual building, as we know them.
-
Sure, architects would say:
"That's impossible".
-
However, if you think about it,
how many actual programs,
-
of those which are known, have you
seen during all the time you've been studying?
-
In many classes, they're teaching them
bit by bit and, maybe,
-
you've been lucky to be there
but it's not usual.
-
The usual thing is that you've
seen the little shacks you build in practices.
-
And, with some luck, maybe a more
proper shack
-
your teacher gives to you as a model,
and sometimes, not even that.
-
And that's what you have with you to learn
how to code, it's very hard.
-
But you can read, read the actual
programs. If you're interested in word
-
processors, you can take LibreOffice,
three or four millions of code lines,
-
you can read them all.
Obviously you won't,
-
but you can do a lot with them.
In fact, there are ways to look
-
at a complex program and understand it
by looking at its source code if you know how to,
-
those are skills which are still not being
taught nowadays but that we should
-
probably be teaching.
Anyway, you can really learn
-
about our profession.
You can take part, because most
-
of this software is developed in communities
where there are lots of people who know
-
and who can help you learn,
and it's nowadays one of the most clear
-
ways to learn how to really code,
not to learn how to code a for loop,
-
but to learn how to really code,
collaborate with people who know.
-
To help them, because you help
to improve their software and
-
they help you to learn.
And, lastly, reusing.
-
Reusing software made by others
but with a good understanding of it,
-
not as a black box, which you
see down below and it's probably
-
the most interesting part. There are no
black boxes in the world of free software,
-
you can check anything out, you
don't have to believe what they tell you,
-
you can check it out by yourself. For example,
you don't have to believe whether your phone
-
is sending telemetry to Google or not, so they
know right now where you are, you can look
-
at the code and see whether it's sending telemetry
or not. And if you don't want it to send it,
-
you can disable it, not because there's
a default option, but because you,
-
who knows about it, go and change
it in the program and maybe there's someone
-
who wants to pay you to do this
kind of stuff.
-
And as I said, then there's a more
personal vision, until now the professional
-
one, which maybe lots of you share
because, in my opinion,
-
it's the only real way to become
a developer,
-
if you're interested in working in
computing development it's working with free code,
-
there aren't many more options nowadays.
-
But the other side is more personal,
more social if you'd like.
-
What kind of society are we heading towards?
This is a pretty classic book
-
by a man called Lawrence Lessig,
who's one of the people who started
-
the Creative Commons project and other stuff.
Actually, he's a lawyer,
-
but he has a lot of technical knowledge
and has a very interesting approach,
-
let's just say he got to the technical
from the legal world.
-
So, he does very interesting analogies and,
for example, he has an analogy
-
which I think it's very enlightening,
and it's:
-
"The code is law", and he means the code
from computer programs,
-
not the civil code.
What does that mean?
-
Nowadays, the things we can or cannot do
-
are more and more limited by the code
of the programs we use than by the laws.
-
Take a moment to think about it. When
you're about to tweet about someone,
-
what's limiting you the most nowadays,
with all we may say about
-
judges and all, are the filters they may use
on Twitter for deciding if that tweet can be published or not,
-
even if they delete your account
because they don't like that tweet.
-
In other words, the code of the "program",
I mean, the mechanism we use
-
to express ourselves limits us more than the
legislation we have in a country such as Spain.
-
If you're about to do something to your TV
that maybe you'd like to but,
-
perhaps, you can't because, legally,
it's not allowed, what's probably
-
going to stop you from it
is your TV's code.
-
For example, think about what happens
when you try to watch a show that is not allowed
-
to watch in Spain. Maybe, legally, it is,
but the producer of that show
-
won't let you watch it. There are filters
on the Internet that check the IP address,
-
that see you're connected from Spain and
won't let you get access
-
to that series, for example, that you
like so much. Even if you're willing to pay,
-
but there're no distribution rights for Spain,
or it has no commercial interests in Spain
-
or something else. It's not the legislation
what's limiting you, maybe it is too,
-
but it's not relevant in this case,
because the very code is limiting you.
-
You can find examples over and over,
and as our lives are
-
more and more measured by technology,
more often what allows us to make
-
technology is what's really limiting us.
But there's a fundamental difference
-
between technology and the law,
and it's that the law, at least theoretically
-
in democratic societies, is made by all of us,
and we have mechanisms
-
that may work better or worse,
but are at least designed
-
for us to take part in how those laws are,
but not in technology.
-
You have a program that does certain things,
and, for example, one may think:
-
"Why is there on Facebook a thumb-up button
and not a thumb-down to state something's crap?"
-
And one may say "oh, that could come in handy,
it would be really nice".
-
In fact, if you think about it,
when one is on a social network,
-
you have ways to upload content
and ways to download it,
-
I mean, to say "this content is not worthy at all".
The kind of content that everyone
-
ends up watching is different, because
you just can't, or maybe you can,
-
say "I don't like this". But that's a decision
somebody made somewhere
-
and you didn't take part in it and,
however, it's shaping the way
-
you're communicating.
If someone would like to read the book,
-
you'll see many examples of how on
many things that, at first, you didn't realize,
-
the fundamental decision by which
you can do things or not
-
has not been made by you, it's been made
at some enterprise which is making
-
software you're using to make it,
even indirectly.
-
And remember, once more, that software
is more and more around us.
-
Software will be in cars, for examples,
as I said before, making decisions
-
like "in a critic situation, I'm killing the driver
or I'm killing the guy crossing the street".
-
And that's what's it's going to be,
and those decisions will probably be
-
made by someone, somewhere,
maybe not with your consent.
-
So, deep down, the thing is that
we're heading more and more towards a society
-
where the one who's in control
of the code, is in control of everything.
-
For those who like sci-fi novels,
read plenty of Cory Doctorow, for example,
-
where he precisely talks about scenarios where,
in different ways, there are people controlling code
-
that, in the end, is completely influencing
in everybody's lives,
-
achieving from political changes to
someone being chased by everyone.
-
There are movies about it, too,
which you'll have seen.
-
Many people thinks "that's sci-fi".
It's reality, and to my generation is still
-
half sci-fi. To yours is full reality,
you'll be living in that world.
-
In a world where the one who's in control
of the code will be in control of much more, probably,
-
than who's in control of the Parliament.
Unless we socially do things
-
against it, I mean, for example, that
the Parliament takes care that those things
-
can't be done or they'll be done
with control by all society.
-
So, all of a sudden, there free software
starts playing a role,
-
because, to begin with, if you don't know
what software that's doing those things looks like,
-
you don't even know what you're
exactly doing. As I was saying before,
-
if we had to see here how many of you,
someone in a building
-
in Silicon Valley knows where you are
sitting now... it's probably impossible to know,
-
because you have several millions of lines
in you phones that perhaps are
-
sending a detailed telemetry signposting.
In fact, maybe one of them
-
is streaming this talk live to someone
over there who's very interested
-
and it's applauding us right now.
There's no way for us to know.
-
Or, to be precise, it would be very hard.
We'd have to do a black box analysis,
-
check if any phone around here is sending
a bunch of signals,
-
perhaps ciphered, check if it follows a certain
pattern to see if that's what's being recorded in here.
-
But there's no easy way to know because you
don't have any access to the source code of your own phone.
-
Again, as this happens more and more,
look how far things can go.
-
So, to sum it up a little,
free software is a mechanism
-
which helps us in this scenario,
it helps us much more than it may seem
-
because very basic things like, for example,
if I could remake all the software
-
of my phone from scratch and install it
again, I could feel reasonably safe
-
about what my phone does, and you
could have business based off of it.
-
And there are people who does.
Remember there are Android versions
-
which are free, there are companies that
are in charge of going through all the code of Android,
-
certifying it for you and generate versions
from it that are theoretically clean.
-
And you can install that on phones or
buy phones that have it installed.
-
But you could do it if you wanted to,
a coordinated group of persons could do it
-
if they cared, but you can extend that
to any other aspects of life,
-
but you need the possibility to access to
the code and to be able to modify it, redistribute it...
-
In other words, you need free code.
Note that free code,
-
free software, is not the only requirement
to be able to do this. There are others.
-
But without that, you can't do anything.
Because of that, my point of view goes like:
-
"We need free software to be
an integral part of this
-
so called by people 'the society of information' ".
It really is our daily life.
-
And we need that whoever that wants to,
is able to at least handle it.
-
There'll be people who don't care about
all this, but there'll be others who may want to handle it,
-
and it's necessary that that person has
access to that code to do so.
-
That's why I said, from my personal point of view,
that free code is much more important,
-
or will be, in the next years, socially,
-
than it's ever been before in the whole history
of free software, with its 40 years by now.
-
And in the end, anyway, as I said,
all of this is just a personal point of view.
-
What's important is what it means to you.
If all goes well, we'll later have some time
-
to talk about it. If it's okay, as English people
say, let it soak in
-
and see if someone really thinks
some of these things are worrying
-
and thinks free software could or could
not help
-
or this is all just irrelevant.
-
Thanks very much to you all.
-
Well, while I look how
and where to plug this,
-
I'm skipping the greetings
and thank-yous parts.
-
Thank you all for coming.
-
So many people...
and I feel shy about this kind of stuff,
-
and feel overwhelmed when seeing that many
people... thank you very much, especially for inviting me,
-
for bringing me here and because I've been told
they're buying me lunch later, so...
-
I've got all I need.
-
Okay, I've come to talk a little
about free software and its demons.
-
To begin with, I gotta say that the
title of this talk has been infamously taken
-
from a book by Sagan, I don't know if you've
heard of it, "The Demon-Haunted World".
-
And Sagan, in this book, intends to talk about
the things he considers menacing to the world
-
in the future. I'm talking a bit about the
little things that are menacing to free software
-
in the future.
Okay, to begin with,
-
this guy is me, looking better
there because I'm less visible.
-
Eh..
-
My name is Pablo Hinojosa.
-
Although I usually use the name
"psycobyte".
-
because I’m a kind of funny guy.
-
This is my blog where I write some nonsense.
-
This is my twitter where I write some shorter nonsense.
-
This.. well, my github account,
where I give proof of my disability of programing.
-
And this is the free software’s office and his blog where i work.
-
¿All right?
-
The free software’s office is called Granada.
-
Eh.. it’s a place where there are a lot of people
who work and try to promote free software
-
inside of Granada’s,
-
to try that people use free software,
help to people free theirs things,
-
and we all say:
"Dude, please free this, really, it’s very cool".
-
etc.
-
Even though it doesn’t cool we say:
"Yeah man, it’s really cool, do it”.
-
Em..
-
The fact is that the most interesting is that
have contact with... what we call "community".
-
Although, it would really is best
communities of free software. yes?
-
EH... let's just say the contact out here.
-
I found all kinds of people.
-
Good.
-
Let’s see a little..
-
Free software faces, in the near future,
-
Already.
-
In fact, it’s facing now.
-
It faces to a lot of huge demons,
of large problems.
-
They are going to face to... above all, the
intellectual property legislation,
-
There are people trying to impose legislations
that can be very harmful to free software,
-
patents... that sort of things.
-
It faces to the DRM, that sort of things.
-
We can see them alter, more calmly.
-
It faces to things like, well,
the software as service or the cloud,
-
they are problems for free software
because they force it to reconsider itself.
-
and to face to new perspectives,
to new ways of seeing the software.
-
Eh.. but I haven't come here to talk about that.
-
I'm going to talk about the little demons.
-
Eh.. the small problems that software free have,
-
Now and everyday.
-
The small mistakes of conception,
-
and the small confusions we have
with free software.
-
I start with that free software is very cool.
-
Now I'm going to say problems,
I’m gonna say bad things and say:
-
"Dude! wht’s up? Are you against..?"
-
No, free software is very cool,
but it has its imperfections as all things.
-
And we have our problems and we will see some of them.
-
To start, I want to see it from the point of view of
"the newcomer"
-
The newcomer is the person who is knowing the free software.
-
And he has not very clear what is it or what is not that.
-
Here I was told that everyone has more or less clear
what is the free software, isn’t it?
-
Those who don't know what it is free software,
raise your hand.
-
Good.
-
In addition, Jesús has mentioned the four freedoms before.
-
So, I save to mention that.
Is wonderful.
-
People say to me: "Dude, you're a tiresome,
your are again with the four freedoms".
-
Good.
I save to mention that.
-
But, reaches many people to the world of the free software,
and we face, often, to the first demon.
-
The first demon of the free software is this:
-
"This is free".
-
We always say.
Free software office we say:
-
“No, free software is like the sun when it rises,
not like free bar”.
-
Even so, always, always there are people that say:
"Hello, I came to see if you can install a free windows for me"
-
You have not understood what is "free", haven’t you?
-
That is to say.
-
Of course he has not understood.
In fact, he doesn’t have why to understanding.
-
People don’t have why to know this,
It doesn't appear just like, it doesn’t come an angel and he shows you
-
and he says:
“dude, free software is this "
-
Don’t, we must to explain them.
-
Certainly is difficult to explain, above all, because,
also, we..from the point of view of the free software,
-
we use free as a low.
-
When we say:
"dude, you have to put a free software in your collegue"
-
or
"you have to put a free software in your business"
-
Those kind of weapons, we often use.
is saying: "It’s just free".
-
It is not really free, actually it costs money.
-
We have to do it.
-
We have to pay people because programmers eat.
-
Dude… I mean, fuck,
they need to pay also those children’s schools.
-
And yet, by that reaches people saying "install me a free windows"
-
or better,
reaches people saying:
-
"It’s just I have a project, a very good idea,
and I need to people program codes for me".
-
Okay,
those people who program codes, eat.
-
People expect that we program things for them just for the sake of it.
-
Actually, in fact,
We usually do free things.
-
We work voluntarily a lot of hours at day,
we do a lot of projects and things.
-
But that doesn't mean
that we are a free workers.
-
¿All right?
-
The next most important thing and it was mentioned by Javier,
and it’s very important.
-
This is a mere technique question.
-
No.
-
In fact, if you look the first sentence I wrote,
in the phrase of Lessin.
-
"The Code is Law"
-
This is very important.
-
From DRMs, the managements of digital rights and so,
they are software applied.
-
But it’s an ideology implemented into software.
-
There are several ideas, political ideas or ideas of
how things should be done,
-
that they are implemented into software.
-
¿All right?
-
In code.
-
The Bitcoin
-
[He comments about a mistake...]
-
The Bitcoin, the virtual coin, is a technique implementation of
an ideology very concrete.
-
¿All right?
-
People who have done the Bitcoin they was thinking
some way to manage resources,
-
and some way to manage richment wealth very very very concrete.
-
¿All right?
-
Open Data etc.
-
When we, in the office of free software, for example we say that...
-
We decided to do...
we started to do the portal of information ***
-
We decided that we were going to do about a portal of open data.
-
Of course, and you are thinking that is something logic.
If you want transparency you should free the datas.
-
Fine, is logical, but it doesn’t the only way of do it.
-
And there are many who do so.
-
The do in a very different way.
-
There is an ideology there.
There is an approach of how things should be.
-
This is very very very important.
-
Not is a mere technical problem.
-
¿All right?
-
Free software is ethic,
free software is philosophy,
free software is politic.
-
¿All right?
-
But, I step to the next because...
-
It is logical that people coming out of the
world of free software,
-
they aren’t sure what is free software.
-
That is not actually a problem.
-
That is to say, it is the reality.
Is that just so.
-
From the point of view of who releases.
-
That is, when people say: "dude, I want to release something"
-
Or when I say to someone: "man, release this".
Or whatever, yes?
-
Ok.
-
The daemon:
"It doesn’t ready for release yet".
-
It fails.
-
That is, dude release that.
-
"Pff... "
-
"Man pfff... is that I can’t,
is that you'll see, the code is very dirty".
-
It's that man, I have to debug it first.
I'm going to put it, is that it is poorly indented. It's just..
-
No.
-
“No, but is that I have that check that it’s good because
I have shame to show it so”.
-
"It is not commented,
is that I have to split it into modules, is that..."
-
No.
-
Let’s see.
-
The right moment to release the code is already.
-
Already implies already.
-
He says: "But is that I still haven’t written code"
-
Fine, you can start releasing.
-
First thing is a license and then we can talk.
-
The ideal moment to release code
always, always is already.
-
It is never tomorrow,
it is never within a minute.
-
It’s already.
-
¿All right?
-
While you do it go releasing.
-
You will have all the advantages.
-
It will be the right way to do it.
-
And it'll be the way more efficient, more comfortable,
easier and less traumatic.
-
¿All right?
-
Well, this is continuous, systematic.
-
Next.
The demon of:
-
"I don’t need a license".
-
I don’t need a license because:
"Agg, is that of a license is very seriously".
-
"Ah, it doesn’t have license?" "I upload it on Internet
and people will copy it".
-
No.
-
If you...
Let’s see, Law says:
-
If you don’t say explicitly:
"Hey, I share this so you can use it".
-
That’s same to say:
This has all the rights reserved.
-
¿All right?
-
If you don’t put license expressly.
-
At the end a license is a text
Where you are saying:
-
"Hey, I let you to do something with this”.
-
If you don’t put a license that allows people do that,
you are not releasing.
-
Even though you think you do.
-
Because I try to use that code for my own work,
make a development, make a fork.
-
To do something like that.
-
And I say: “Oh shit, it has no license,
now I cannot use because...
-
and if tomorrow I have with a lawyer, what? "
What do I do?”
-
I mean, I cannot.
-
I have my hands tied.
All right?
-
It’s a danger, it’s risk to me.
-
So that, if you don’t put license to your code,
you are not releasing.
-
Put them license!.
Cm’on.
-
And now..***
-
I'm trying to be very fast, very summarized.
There are much more things, well.
-
And now the most interesting part:
-
The bad habits.
-
The bad things that we have in the community.
-
Or rather, in the communities.
-
We have many bad..
and we have a few demons enough crappy.
-
The first one is the "purity".
-
The demon of purity is horrible.
We have a lot of people who are really infamous.
-
Eh.. or we are infamous.
Perhaps I should say so.
-
It is: "dude, I am more free than you".
-
Yeahh..
-
"How can use...? I don’t know... sorry".
-
"How can you use Windows?"
-
"This way you think you make free software
on Windows?".
-
"For God's sake: how do you do it?".
-
"It cannot be, it’s not free enough".
-
" Impure, get out of here! "
-
No.
-
I mean it. No.
It’s a complete mistake.
-
The fact that you use free software does not make you purer,
more suitable, more wonderful, better person
-
No.
-
The fact that you use free software makes you a guy more fortunate.
-
All right?
-
It make you more lucky.
-
Why?
-
Because you have the control of the code,
of the software that you are using, etc.
-
But it doesn’t make you a better person in any case.
-
However, there is a certain attitude, often,
within the community of the software free or
-
Communities of free software .
-
Of that, of lashing those who don’t use free software,
or those who use a free software a little less,
-
Or to those who use repositories as Unity of Debian.
-
I mean, that kind of things
-
All right?
-
And this is a horrible demon,
because the truth turns us into guys enough assholes.
-
I didn’t come to speak about that, but well.
-
The "obstacles of entry".
-
This is very important, it has a bit of relation
with the previous thing and it has a bit of relation
-
with next thing I’m going to say:
-
Sometimes it’s not easy to get in a project.
-
You have a project.
Normally in the small projects you do something,
-
and you have your project, you do your things.
You are wishing that people come to participate.
-
"Come guys, lend me a hand".
-
And someone send you an email:
"Eh! I made a patch for your thing" and so.
-
And you see it and you say:
"Oah! Yo, they sent me a patch,
-
how cool!,
I’m happy, finally"
-
And he answers to the guy: "hey thank you very much for the patch,
look I‘m going to apply it..."
-
or “I have applied it, look I’ve put here
and I've put your name here and so…”
-
That’s for small projects.
-
When a project starts to get bigger...
course there comes a time when you cannot manage it
-
to receive 15 patches daily, to check that
patches are OK, that they work and so...
-
And you have to invent a system to manage
how is that handles
-
Some important communities have made those systems,
mounted, etc, to manage this kind of things.
-
Others have it worse managed, others don’t have any
and they do it on their own.
-
And everywhere there are usually kind of guys a little...
complicated that make hard to solve that task.
-
The typical thing:
"I would like to make such such..."
-
"-Then search it in google, dude".
-
That happens, I mean , you don’t solve anything saying to the guy
To search it in google.
-
You are not helping him.
He already knew that he had to search it in google.
-
And if he has not done it is because he has not been able to
Or it has not occurred to him, or whatever.
-
Or "is that this forum is not for that,
You had to post it to another forum".
-
What other type of forum?
-
That kind of things.
-
We often encounter obstacles to enter
in projects.
-
I insist, the projects more important, bigger
they already have people dedicated to them
-
to manage that kind of things
and to facilitate that kind of things.
-
But we often find with projects
that people don’t do it, and it’s very complicated.
-
We put them obstacles and we stop people
who might have contributed something to our project,
-
at the end they just get tired and aren’t into contribute us anymore.
-
And this has a very important relation
with what I was saying in the following point:
-
The "assholes".
-
I have been thinking for ways to say it
more diplomatic, more so...
-
How would say this... people who has soso...
-
But at the end it comes into my mind... assholes.
-
They are many in the free software, sorry.
I don’t know if more than other projects.
-
I don’t know if more than another software.
-
But there are people, that we say,
they have a little complicated social life.
-
I'm not going to mention any of the great gurus
of free software, but without mentioning any
-
I’m going to mention something very important and..
We have people that we know they are assholes,
-
We know that they have a complicated character,
that it’s difficult to work with them,
-
that they have managed to get people out from their projects
because they didn’t bear them.
-
All right?
-
But what’s up?
As he’s a great guy,
-
as he’s a very good guy, who code program very good,
even so we can bear him and we don’t say him:
-
"Dude, you’re an asshole".
-
Eh.. of course this is a problem because, again,
that’s why I said that it related to what we saw before,
-
we create obstacles to people to enter, again,
we create difficulties to them.
-
And that’s not what we want.
We want people are able to contribute,
-
We want people work.
-
That a guy is a great programmer,
is a super guy and programs fantastically
-
it doesn’t mean that we have to bear your bullshit.
-
All right?
-
Or that should be allowed.
-
Very good.
-
And notice a thing.
I have been saying it all the time,
-
Since I've started to speak,
in all the time I've been here.
-
Perhaps someone has thought that it was strange.
-
[a technic comment]
-
I have been saying all the time: "A programmer
"A guy" and I have spoken in masculine.
-
Because in fact,
first, because there are many more men in proportion.
-
And secondly, because we have a serious problem
of sexism in the communities of free software.
-
In fact,it’s a problem most of software in general,
but is applied as a minimum, equally, to free software.
-
I talk especially of things as I'm saying now.
Say: "a guy", "a man", "a such..."
-
There are women programmers, there are many women programmers
Who are great doing very great things,
-
they are partners who are very marvelous.
-
But mostly I talk of things of put
in my slides.
-
I ‘ve seen many times, practically,
in any Congress about software that I usually assist.
-
And specifically I usually go to congresses of free software ,
and not another type of Congress.
-
I find with that someone has showed as symbol,
Idk.. to represent a award,
-
to show a girl in a bikini...
-
Dude!, I mean, but I no longer say that you're not sexist
or you’re so...
-
It not looks like any sense.
For God’s sake.
-
And that happen to us very often.
-
It’s not a serious problem.
Serious... I mean as you look at it,
-
It’s not a serious problem as for example
sectors of construction.
-
Which is a sector where there is a very serious problem in that sense.
-
Or as in other sectors,
...
-
There are no people telling her: "women go to the kitchen"
at least not in public.
-
But really there is a problem.
To ignore this problem and say: "No, that doesn’t happen here,"
-
It doesn’t solve anything.
-
Ok?
-
It’s there.
-
Which take to the next demon:
"The gender breach ".
-
That’s to say, we have very few women in free software,
-
basically because we have very few women
in the software.
-
All right?
-
If you don’t enter to our world,
If 50% of the population doesn’t enter to the software,
-
we are losing 50% of talent.
-
Ok?
And it’s a problem.
-
There’re tons of people working,
trying to find out what the problem is,
-
Why they don’t enter,
why we’re lack of women in the free software.
-
Obviously related to what I was talking about before.
-
And there are a lot of people trying to see what
solutions we can give to.
-
Doing activities, doing things, etc.
Looking for tools to try to give that jump we have.
-
It’s not much less easy obviously.
It’s not a thing you do from one day to another.
-
But we are trying and we are getting things.
-
It’s something that we don’t have to forget, because really,
I insist, I no longer talk about an equality topic,
-
a solidarity topic, or topic of...
I’m not talking about those topics, I talk simply
-
about pure pragmatism.
-
We are losing half the talent,
They are going to other places.
-
People perfectly qualified.
-
And finally.
He didn’t want to make it so serious, as I am getting myself...
-
Let's not be serious, let's take it with a little of laugh,
with a little relaxation.
-
Emma Goldman said:
"If I cannot dance, I’m not interested in your revolution"
-
It’s not that Emma thought that revolutions are a party,
-
or that she thought that revolutions should be a party.
-
It’s really just that, in a context we are,
obviously, is not the same as Emma’s,
-
In a context we are, that we do a work which our will,
our motivation,
-
self-interest, personal interest to doing something,
to getting something, is so important,
-
it’s very very easy that, simply, our own effort,
the small advances that you make to flow
-
in the big obstacles that you have.
-
If we don’t take it with a bit to laugh,
it won’t get itself any more...
-
We need to laugh, to take with a bit of humor...
-
Ok?
-
And finally, in any case, and despite everything,
I insist. It’s worth.
-
I mena, free software is very cool.
Participate, get into, do something
-
because it’s worth, really.
-
I’ve met the most qualified people,
to more intelligent people, to the most motivated people
-
within the world of free software.
-
Despite everything I've been saying right now,
I’ve seen the best atmosphere of the world of job,
-
the best atmosphere of... I mean it, to be happy
and to be well on free software.
-
More than any other.
Yes?
-
If you don’t work in a project with free software,
get into it, get into whatever,
-
participate in projects that they are running, release things…
translate if you want, whatever...
-
But it’s really worth it, it’s much worth.
-
And that’s it.
-
Thanks very much.
-
[applauses from public]
-
Do you hear me?
-
Yes?.
-
Ok, it’s not necessary to shout...
-
Well, firstly thank you very much for...
No?
-
So not, you didn’t hear me...
-
So I have a good voice, haven’t I?
-
First of all, like all yes?, to be thankful for
your invitation in Madrid, in the College.
-
It has made me very excited that they invited me.
And I’m going to talk a little bit about...
-
I have not done almost ever but
I’m going to talk a little bit of me.
-
I'm not narcissistic, I think, but sometimes I think that with
the experiences we've lived and now years have passed yes?
-
and someone perhaps they can be useful to you
-
I'm going to talk a little bit of me, briefly,
so I can tell you a couple of anecdotes
-
and later I’ll talk a little bit of Debian yes?
because I have to sell my improvement way.
-
Well, who am I? Maybe you will not know me
Because we are usually behind the keyboard
-
Mainly took about 10 years
Becoming a teacher teaching programming
-
And always from almost always I have used
Free software both to tell my
-
Students, in fact the little template I make
For them to write their code already carries the GPL
-
If anyone tells me this, but this
I say is what there is
-
And on the other hand as catching code and being able to
Show, as a teacher is a source of inspiration
-
And incredible creation
-
I have not been doing it for a few months now
Teacher, but I got into a challenge
-
Very curious that is that I am working
In a syndicate for public education
-
In Catalonia and I'm trying to convince them
To see if they hear me, this is going to be published not?
-
To see if they hear me to move everything
Your project to free software both the web
-
Like your entire network
-
But hey I think I've been invited here not for being
Teacher that there are 500 if not because I am
-
Since 2012 I am developing in Debian
I carry a few packages is very little
-
But this is the grace of free software too
That if we all do a little we get
-
Great challenges right? Collaboration and work
On the net what gratifies is what we get
-
I suppose, is there anyone who does not know what Debian is?
Does anyone dare to tell me that they do not know what Debian is?
-
Well no one dares, in case there is one that does not dare
I commented that it is a distribution of GNU / Linux
-
Of the perhaps there are like several branches of distributions
Large Debian is one of which deriban
-
Many of the best known then I will speak a
A little more of him
-
But if I had to define I do not think so
I will identify myself as a developer
-
There is forgiveness neither as a teacher nor as a developer
Debian but would define me as passionate
-
Software and technology and that's what I'm going to
Well I would like to focus the talk a little with that
-
As my partner has explained?
The advantages of free software
-
At a professional level because you can reuse,
You can modify on a personal level you can
-
You can see if they're cheating you
But I have come to talk about passion
-
Passion for technology, I do not know how many
Are you passionate about technology here?
-
Motivates you, you would have to raise everyone's hand,
Please, it's worth more
-
Okay, how many are you passionate about technology?
And you all make a huge wave there
-
And I, I, because otherwise you would not be studying
This, I guess you did not get in here.
-
To be millionaires, because maybe you are
mistaking
-
You are here because you like it, you like it
The software, like to program
-
And that is what has always moved me
Sorry I jumped I'm going to count a couple
-
Of anecdotes
-
The first is when before being a teacher
I was working in service companies
-
I was in a little business
Software and such
-
And I to my little programs at home, my games
I was not going to say which operating system
-
Which gives me as repellent and ... but I was like
Restless with the subject saw computer science as
-
Something neutral something pff, and talking to a
I told the guy at work that my computer
-
I love it, I love it, but I'm missing something.
I lack something a social point, a political point
-
With the computer this world is going to move
It is much more important and he tells me
-
But come, come to the hacklab of Barcelona
KernelPanic we do courses
-
We used GNU / Linux and I looked at it as
What are you telling me? I went
-
And from there on because first skin of goose
Okay the second comes later, I saw that there were people
-
Like me, that there were passionate people, I saw
Really physical
-
I saw people as passionate as I
And that got me good curiosity
-
That they did not use
The nameless, used another operating system
-
Of which I knew nothing and learned it
I learned what GNU / Linux was the 4 freedoms
-
That I was going to tell them, but there's no need
Because the first speaker saved us
-
5 minutilles all, and I saw what was a license of
Free software, which was viral
-
I say I give but I force you to give
Okay, and it was one of, the first anecdote I wanted to explain
-
Of passion for software and the second
Was that after a few years, well sorry
-
With the whole theme of hacklabs that I started with
Meet people not only from Barcelona but all
-
The state that made hackmeeting hacker with
The ... when I speak of hacker I speak of
-
The people who are passionate about the software, not the
People who are passionate about breaking bank accounts
-
If not the passionate people we enjoy
Knowing how things are done
-
With proprietary software this is impossible
-
With which I got in touch with a lot
People, have spent many years spreading free software
-
Giving away CDs until there was a
moment to say I have spread a lot
-
I used a lot, I want to return something
To the community, and I still do not know how I
-
Started to bring Debian that was the
Distribution of GNU / Linux that I had always used
-
And one day, well, I started sending some
Patch, talk to developers
-
Which for me was also amazing, I found this error
And at 5 minutes I had answered the developer
-
Of that package and it was like but, well
But this where he is and we will call you later
-
No longer was it was completely a communication
Completely fluid
-
And well, I got going
Until one day I start to pack
-
A little and I uploaded my first package, I remember completely
To be in the metro to take the email to me
-
Your package "has been accepted" and I wow
Goose bumps again, without charging anything
-
A packet that was worthless, but you
Full of brutal satisfaction
-
That the rest of ... whoever goes is going to
Be able to use, it will be able to improve and
-
Do what suits you best
-
And now you could tell me: but that has
To see the passion for technology with
-
Free software?
-
Because I think it makes it very easy
Obviously you can be passionate about
-
Technology, but you already see the fans of all
Mac products do not?
-
They are passionate too, but as a technician
Eh free software makes it very easy
-
And I will put as an example, I will tell a little bit
How the Debian community works
-
So that you see that the freedom he gives you and
The community that gives you can help you a lot
-
That you develop and be able to do what you want
With what you generate as code
-
Some time ago, just like the four freedoms
I decided that Debian had the 4 spirals
-
The Debian symbol is a spiral and I'm going
To relate a little bit each what it means
-
And see if you can understand a little of what
I was talking
-
First of all the community, what is the
Debian community?
-
The Debian community is huge is not a
Small project is a very large project
-
With which to enter costs a lot, costs
A lot if you're shy, if you're not shy
-
You throw yourself but if you're shy it costs you a lot
Because it is very big
-
All mailing lists on which,
Most of the communication is done there
-
Are less any specifically public
Less one that is only developers
-
To discuss private things, but all
The others are public therefore what you write
-
It stays in public and it's embarrassing, but I'm going to
Explain a little how it works
-
The community have different profile,
The first is a user, the first thing that
-
You could do is use it and therefore
And you are part of that community
-
Then there are people who make collaborations
Such as writing a patch or writing a bug
-
Because he finds an error and reports it
If you go further and there is one of the ...
-
Well I do not know if you know how distributions work
But in general all the software is packaged
-
In packages ie we take the source code of
Free software that exists and we put it in a special way
-
We package it so that it can adapt to the
Distribution then you when you are using Debian
-
Do you install packages
-
Eh then if you have a package that you are developing
Long ago you can become a Debian maintainer
-
That is to say you are given the permissions so that your
Keep that package and upload it to the Debian repository
-
without any problem
-
And finally they are Debian developer that these
We are people who have already become more involved in
-
The community we have done a whole process
To enter, there are basically two parts
-
The first part is very philosophical is wanted
Ensure that you are committed to
-
Free software and with Debian and the other more technical
So good to see that you know what you do, right?
-
Debian is characterized by its quality and safety and is not
Can put any package that is wrong
-
Then you have to check that you really
Are you doing things right
-
Which I would like to comment also on the community
Is how Debian works, you do not have to go
-
Asking for permissions if I do this or do the other
We have a few guides and from there you are doing
-
And talk about democracy when you are
Debian developer you can vote
-
That is you can propose things and vote
But also the "docracy" "do" of doing
-
Do not come with rolls this would do it like this or that
Because it is best to do this does not code
-
Do and we already see how everything else
Debian spiral would be freedom
-
Freedom in that sense, because on the one hand we have
The freedom that the software will always remain
-
Free, in fact as I commented before when
You become a Debian developer
-
When you become Debian developer these
According to the Debian Social Contract
-
Which is a contract made with the
Debian users and this agreement says
-
The first thing he says is that Debian software
Always remain free
-
Says other things the truth is that I do not know
Of memory but I can comment them
-
Says that we will always give back to the community
Everything we do bone that we consider
-
To the community, that we will not hide problems
That's brutal is not it? Go look at this bug
-
As it is all free you can see that really
There is no problem and everyone can fix it
-
And fin, not finally, that our priorities
It is people users and free software
-
And finally trying to remove one of the fears
That comrade commented that if your
-
You need proprietary software even if you are not
In repositories that would be official
-
Of Debian if there are two repositories that can
Have proprietary software for if you want to install them
-
That's one that the Taliban would say
Debian is not purely free because it has
-
Two repositories that ... well it's true
Is purely free because the repository
-
Main is all free, but if you can
Install private things if you need them
-
Also freedom as a person when you are
In the community, because you can do whatever you want
-
Freedom and independence Debian does not depend on a company
Is a community of volunteers with which there is no
-
Guidelines apart from the social contract and the Debian guides
That they tell you you have to go here or you have to go there
-
Everything is decided in community and democratically
-
To talk about good quality in free software
Quality is relatively easy if there is sufficient
-
People like to go fix things
But in the case of Debian I think that if
-
That we could assure that it is a project
Which takes into account the quality of the
-
Software, in fact there are Debian Policies
That when you start with Debian it's a bit
-
A torture that is when a package enters
In the repository you have to fulfill them
-
If you are not sent bugs or do not go to the stable version
Debian and well we have many tools
-
I'm not going to roll up with this if someone
Have doubts I will explain, but we have tools like
-
"Piuparts" or "Lintian" that he does is that when you have
Finished making the package you check that package
-
Do not misrepresent yourself and have the copyright for example
What do you say or what, I'm a programmer, I do not want
-
Because if you do not have a well-placed copyright
Also tells you
-
And finally as the flavors we have
In Debian, Debian as well as being the main source
-
Of many distributions known as
Can be Ubuntu or Linux Mint or many others
-
Also has flavors inside for example
You say to me that I really like Debian.
-
But it is that I am very involved in the medical world
As there are "DebianMeds" or I'm involved in education
-
Because "DebianEdu" or I really like children
"DebianJunior" there are as flavors that are compilations
-
Of software in that particular field therefore
We have to choose in fact Debian is defined as
-
A universal operating system so you like everything
the world
-
Finished this mini presentation of Debian
I would also like to comment
-
Because in the projects of free software
It is easy to enter and as not, I already commented it my partner
-
And I really liked that a man
Talk about women and not a woman talking about women
-
What is always what happens
I would like to know how many people here
-
It's a woman or a woman
-
It's okay, though, right?
Now everyone is watching, where are they?
-
where are they? In the ... a clear example even
Is very worrisome in the world of free software
-
This issue is worrying because statistically
There are more women in the technological field than in
-
Free software, the Debian case about 1000
Developers, women or sitting
-
Wife did not arrive at 20 ok
What are we doing wrong
-
I do not know, I've read a lot of books
Of people who say no
-
Video games, but it's now girls
They play video games is complicated
-
I think it's not just about women
That we focus on this if not also
-
Of how men receive us and why
Debian Women is not a project that people who are
-
Inside are women, but they are men and women
That what they want is that in Debian there are more women
-
I hope it will cease to exist because that would mean
That is not necessary, but it is simply a
-
Entrance door to that: I'm ashamed
That they are all boys here, well, I'm starting to talk here
-
How can I collaborate and such and then you're already inside
-
But not only women because sometimes the criticism
But because only communities that encourage women
-
As it was not long ago in Debian the Diversity Statement
It's going to be the only slide that I put with text
-
In English but I will translate it into which Debian animates
To anyone who can collaborate
-
And says: the Debian project welcomes and encourages
To anyone's participation, no matter how you identify
-
To yourself or as others perceive you,
We welcome you
-
We welcome contributions from anyone
Provided they interact constructively
-
With our community, although the majority of
Our work is technical in nature
-
We also value and encourage contributions from
Those who have experience in other areas
-
And encourage them to enter our community
-
With which we try to get people to come
To the project, welcome
-
No matter what gender, gender, race, religion
Have and that is why I say that entering into
-
Free software, if you have passion in principle
It would have to be much easier
-
And with this thank you
And well if you have questions and you will do them to me later
-
Well, good morning to everyone
And all
-
I am Pablo Soto I am the participation councilor
Citizen transparency and open government
-
Of the city of Madrid, you will discover in the
Next few minutes I do not talk like a politician
-
That I speak more like a developer
And I will try to live or surf the thin line
-
Between the two things, I really have been
A hacktivist all my life
-
And I am part of those hundreds of new
Political experiences, political parties
-
In the case of Madrid is called Ahora Madrid
But there are in hundreds of cities and
-
Govern in fact in the most
Large throughout the state
-
Barcelona, Valencia, Madrid, La Coruña
Santiago, Cádiz, Zaragoza
-
We could spend so much time, right?
In a country where everyone is always
-
I knew who was going to be the next president
Of the government, right?
-
Notice that more special things have had to happen
So that nothing less than in the capital
-
One of the most important countries of the
World and a large European capital
-
Find a hacker in the government deciding
How are public policies made
-
Well sure many of you
Remembers it but I would like to know
-
Who knows what happened in Madrid the night
Of May 15, 2011? You can raise your hand
-
Those that you know happened that night
What little, well that night
-
That day, on the 15th of May, there was a series
Of demonstrations in 50 cities in Spain
-
It was the first time a large demonstration was called
Without the support of any traditional political party
-
Not traditional, no political party no
Trade union, no traditional civil society organization
-
And rather through social networks moving
In small groups of activists a high percentage
-
Of them were activists who came from the world
Of free software, a mobilization was moved
-
We are talking about 2011 when
There was a very serious crisis problem in Spain
-
We still have it but if you go back to May 2011
Unemployment was shooting up millions of people
-
Hundreds of thousands of people were starting to
Lose their homes because they could not pay the mortgages
-
Million Spaniards and Spanish went out to
Other countries have sought the future
-
Cutbacks in health and education began.
and a mobilization emerges and the slogan,
-
the main banner did not read "Work, roof, bread"
if you remember it was "real democracy now".
-
And that responds to an analysis that emerges from
many places in society, which say
-
well maybe the problem is not so much this specific problem that can be with housing or
-
this specific problem that we can have with education if not that we have a collective
-
problem with democracy, it seems that democracy is not finishing giving everything
-
that came to give, and it seems that surely we can improve it and it seems that we are at a crucial moment,
-
we are in a moment where, well, I do not know if maybe sounds a little grandiloquent
-
but the work done by the most important human genre in history is before us
-
and it's the internet, we are in a moment where if we think of history in something similar
-
we can think perhaps in the printing press, to notice that the printing, the effect it can have,
-
that it has been able to have in humanity comparing it with the internet, that the internet is as if we put
-
steroids to the printing and we had one in each house, well, look what the printing caused,
-
because it provoked, it contributed to that generated a very interesting thing in Europe
-
which was called "Illustration", which in turn triggered a cycle of revolutions that in turn brought us
-
the parliamentary democracies we now have systems where society could not be
-
more pyramidal, and fix what brought the press, well Now it turns out we have internet
-
and we do not have it now, we have for a few decades and we are still with
-
those same democracies, where we have decided in some way that we are unable to agree
-
all of us and then we appoint a few and they agree,
-
we gather them in a building, we call it parliament, that they decide and we will obey,
-
well then, this analysis that we can be at a point where it is very important what
-
we can do collectively arise these mobilizations and fix it is not only in Spain,
-
have occurred throughout all continents, have occurred since:
-
"Occupy Wall street" until the revolution of the sunflowers, we have the Arab revolt
-
not everywhere has worked the same in each place is different but there is a common element
-
that is civil society making a very intensive use of technologies, go out to
-
the street, in some places with bloody dictatorships and I am thinking of Tunez, had decades
-
with a dictator who murdered them if they go out on the street, agree through
-
social networks, there is a spark that is a street merchant who arbitrarily,
-
the police demanded his post and set himself on fire. The new is obviously not given by the official media
-
but through the internet people are getting the news and a manifestation
-
is generated that is growing every day, every day it is growing, every day it is growing and there comes a time when
-
Ben Ali, who was this dictator has the distrust of his own bodyguards and decides to ride
-
a helicopter and leave, and since then
There is democracy in Tunez, there they call it
-
the Facebook revolution, Facebook is a company and yet there they do not live it
-
with that sadness. Well let's talk a little bit about how free software can transform all of this.
-
When we talk about democracy, we are sure that many of us think of a political key, and when we think
-
of a political key, for many, I am sure that it is also a bit, it is a bit of a roll, this has to do
-
with if you stop someone on the street and you questions that what is the policy, because maybe it responds to you
-
of course if the leaders discussing on TV that maybe Albert Rivera
-
and Pablo Iglésias argue a lot and who put a fatter "zasca" on the other and then
-
wins the election, as that is politics, democracy and politics are something else,
-
democracy and this is very important, this is where we touch what is really important, is that
-
democracy is that you decide, democracy is that all of us here can decide in practice
-
that we can decide what the city is like the country where we live, as is the world.
-
And that's how, if I ask you which is the most democratic country in the world?
-
Who knows?
-
to have heard there some name of a country,
-
Switzerland, Very good!
-
Is the gold standard of democracy, it is like no one on the left or right dares
-
to say that there is no democracy in Switzerland, notice that there has not been a very chaotic system either
-
And yet if we look at what is in Switzerland when we are going to fill the contents
-
of what the "Real Democracy Now" banners said and see what is in Switzerland, it does not seem to be
-
a constant revolutionary process either, are some mechanisms that
-
allow citizens to take control of politics whenever they want, when they want to pass a law
-
that politicians do not agree to approve, citizens can propose it and in a
-
referendum decide it and politicians obey or when politicians want to pass a law and approve it
-
with which the social majority disagrees, Signatures are gathered, there is a deadline to gather the signatures and
-
already then that law goes to referendum and if the people are against it undoes that law,
-
what simpler mechanism, the census percentage in signatures, is very similar to the ILPs, what happens
-
is that it works well and takes a referendum, well, that mechanism that is so simple
-
at the same time is very powerful, It is very powerful because it is a legal mechanism that allows us
-
to stop wars, for example, we always laugh at the Swiss because they are very neutral
-
and it's like the topic, as we ridicule it, but to fix you is a country capable of stopping
-
anyway when there is an impulse of a minority that wants to impose a war, look at you, and it's a country
-
where things like income are already being talked about Universal, that is to say that everyone has a non-theoretical real right,
-
we are not talking about a theoretical corpus that we build on Marxism, not, in practice
-
in Europe, in a country besides culture rather conservative center we could say as Switzerland
-
are posing the reality that everyone has the right to have the minimum to live
-
and that implies having a basic income independently of all the conditions
-
that we can put. You can see that the most powerful mechanism, well, we go back to 2015,
-
it turns out that there are these municipal elections in which there are a lot of new governments
-
and we arrived at the city hall of Madrid and we say, from this we have learned in civil society
-
that fundamentally has to do with mechanisms of direct democracy that can be put
-
into action and are known to work, are already known to work, the swiss had already in 1848
-
because they do not put it here and there are a lot of difficulties because "tachán" arrives the greatest challenge that has the
-
democracy, the biggest challenge that has direct democracy and the citizen participation that is, is none other
-
han the politicians, the Biggest challenge ever for
People can take control of the institutions
-
and political control are the politicians, I do not know any survey at a global level
-
where people say they do not want to have the ability to decide what the laws are like, there is no way
-
I know that survey and yet when asked to The politicians systematically say
-
well that they do not agree that according to which mechanisms, what to see, what to see
-
is very striking the case of Holland where a survey was made on the one hand to people,
-
citizens and ordinary citizens and on the other hand council councilors and 80 percent
-
of citizens agreed that the popular initiative was introduced to a binding referendum
-
which is this mechanism and 80 percent of councilors were against fixing you,
-
because they basically understood the importance of this mechanism, a mechanism
-
capable of expropriating the minorities who are in command to distribute it among a lot of people,
-
all over the world. There are a lot of arguments against these mechanisms
-
But we had some trick and a very good trick that we knew was working
-
in civil society was free software, so we decided to take this mechanism if the swiss
-
had it in 1848 and it worked because they did not try it in 2015 in Madrid
-
and what we said was, well if the Swiss have been doing it for centuries, collecting signatures on paper
-
and voting exclusively in ballot boxes that are very similar to the times from which
-
this mechanism was born, to think of what type of printing presses were formerly everything
-
as very mechanical with wood and pieces and with
things and so clear envelopes, urn papers, signatures,
-
pens but it is that we are in the 21st century so let's think as you join now people
-
signatures sure you all know platforms of signatures I do not want to say any, we do not have to
-
advertise Change, but you all use truth, people use those digital platforms
-
to collect signatures because we do not make that legal mechanism through which
-
a group of people can agree to propose a law and that is voted and made through the page of the city council.
-
The initial response is because that page does not exist, so we said good then
-
let's do it and we will do it in free software.
-
I do not know if you have the city of Madrid but
-
if I tell you that the city of Madrid has about 500 people in the computer department,
-
say, Wow! That's a lot of people, but if I tell you that in total there are more than 30,000 employees maybe
-
not so much, because it is difficult to find organizations where only one in 60 is the computer
-
and that at the same time it is an organization where all the procedures can be done online, everything is
-
automated, it is very difficult to find organizations so, although it seems that an organization of
-
500 computers, not all are computers, but the computer branch of Madrid city council
-
are 500 people with a budget of about 100,000,000 million euros a year seems to be a powerful machinery
-
in fact the opposite happens, they are very heavy machinery
-
where it is very difficult to produce innovation, it is very difficult and then we decided to do what
-
Pablo recommended that is to open an account in Github first and from the first line of
-
code was free, then we said: "Hello world we want to make a mechanism of citizen participation
-
for direct democracy in Madrid," these are the rules, if 1 percent
-
of the population supports a proposal, which anyone can do it we take it to a vote, the whole city
-
votes and if the majority agrees the government carries it out.
-
Now we are going to develop it, then as you know the elections were in May 2015 sorry
-
in June 2015, we form government in July 2015,
-
I think it was July 27, 2015
-
we launched the mechanism with the portal, connected with the register , with secure connection, with verification,
-
with electronic voting on September 15, 2015, this would have been absolutely unthinkable for
-
any administration and there were not many people contributing to the code yet.
-
We knew we had planted a good seed and that people were going to start using it and that
-
it could already be spread to other places.
-
At the same time that we understood that this project is something that surpasses Madrid because it is free software
-
what we did was something a little radical in quotation marks that was something radial in the sense that it had never
-
been done, that is to launch a department In a town hall whose sole purpose is
-
to serve all institutions other than the city council, the outside world and call it
-
the institutional extension service, a series of departments that are dedicated to call others
-
places to get in touch with citizens of all the world, to receive when they contact us and tell
-
we have these tools, we have this code and when we talk about code, we talk
-
about the Code Decide Madrid, which is what is called the platform, but also the legal code of laws,
-
regulations, ordinances, everything that we have needed to go approving, decrees to implement
-
these democratic mechanisms, we have done the same, we have licensed GPL
-
nothing else to the code, because the laws already have it by themselves, they are public domain, but the idea is the same
-
let's to use these licenses to spread democracy, after all, what has been the result,
-
after a few months Barcelona joined, shortly after Coruña, shortly after
-
Santiago are now more than 30 cities, which use it.
-
In Barcelona they called it Decidín Barcelona, in each place they have called it in a way and in some
-
places they are exactly Decide Madrid modified the look and feel, the appearance but in other places
-
they have opened their own lines of development, Around 100
-
repositories where there are commits usually and we do not have a census
-
but there are dozens of developers full time, not only in Spain, also for example is
-
using Nariño which is a region of Colombia,
-
They are installing it in the state of Jalisco (Guadalajara)
-
We are talking about millions of people, Buenos Aires, I do not know if they have called it Decide Buenos Aires,
-
well, multitude of cities around the world.
-
We return to the case of Madrid, as well as working, well one of the things that has had this project of
-
novel, is that in Switzerland as you know you have to collect all the signatures on paper in the street
-
to get the number that is and when the You have achieved, present them in the institution
-
and the referendum is called, here, not here a proposal with only seven supports, actually
-
with only one support, you put it and that proposal the council has already published and
-
is only one support , what are you and you have the same conditions to get in this case is 27,064
-
supports, that is one in 100
madrilenians over the age of 16 have to agree
-
With your proposal.
-
That radically changes the way in which this mechanism of democracy works because in Switzerland
-
most of the citizen initiatives manage to collect the necessary signatures to reach
-
referendum, here there have been 15,000 proposals, obviously it is a minimum percentage that will
-
get those firms , Why ?, because at the end
That threshold for what it serves is to regulate that
-
we can not be voting one hundred things constantly all the time if not that we are going to vote X things a year.
-
In Switzerland they vote 2, 3, 4 things every year,
-
you can see that there are maybe 8 initiatives or 6 initiatives and get the signatures
-
Only 4 or 2, here there have been 15,000 proposals but at the end of the first year they have obtained
-
the signatures 2 or be that although the mechanism has very different flows and this
-
works with a logic of very rapid change, new things on the platform
-
people can make and disseminate their proposals in networks in a much simpler way but
-
finally we arrive at the same result, which is that every year an affordable number of proposals
-
are voted, in this case are 2 proposals that are going to vote of 13 To the 19 of February, they are going to vote
-
in the same platform and with this I am going to enter in the detail
-
I do not know how I go about time, I still have,
-
I do not want to go over a subject that is that the code is law and here you will understand very well
-
because here it is true that it is law
-
From February 13 to 19, these two proposals will be voted on in Madrid, one of which is Madrid
-
100 percent sustainable and is promoted by the climate alliance. There are 400 organizations
-
that include people of all types, trade unions, Catholic Church, Greenpeace
-
And is the profile of proposal that gets through a mechanism that has nothing to do
-
with free software, nor with the internet, they would have managed to collect the same signatures,
-
but if you see the other, only ticket of public transport.
-
Proposes that there be a modality of
-
public transport that is that with a ticket you can for ninety minutes ride as many times as
-
you want in things, to make a trip maybe you catch bus, subway and bus
-
or something, this proposal has been put by a specific person, an individual person,
-
any one, you have In other debates, it is also very good here because
-
in the debates section you have been able to see several debates where you have received very high consensuses,
-
here in this debate there are 4,000 people and 95 percent agree that it would be possible
-
to change transportation without paying another ticket.
He has made that proposal and fixate that a person
-
without having a platform that supports him, through networks openly, has achieved
-
to recapture the supports.
-
These 2 proposals are put to the vote as I said they are going to vote from 13 to
-
February 19 and this is where electronic voting comes into question and this is very important
-
because this is where a crucial element comes where it is seen how free software
-
is at this point in history at a point where it will shape itself we will have democratic and free societies
-
or if we are going to have societies with different forms with authoritarianism
-
is an authoritarianism of fascist court, of populist court, of cut capitalist of the court that
-
is by means of the use of the technologies to control society.
-
Electronic voting, at the moment is something that is in dispute by many giants
-
technological, there are large companies some of the largest in the world are Spanish by
-
chance who are striving to introduce electronic voting in countries little by little
-
what happens is that most of these companies have proprietary software and that means,
-
It means that you will not be able to see the code that processes your vote, you will not be able to modify it,
-
you will not even be able to see it, you will not be able to check that this process is happening
-
as says that independent authority that is happening, so
-
this ritual that occurs every time there is an election is that every time the polls open
-
and in front of anyone can go to see it and can go to see that count and can verify that on that
-
table has come out So that voting does not necessarily translate to electronic voting.
-
The solution to this is not so technological we already have the technology to verify that
-
electronic voting retains all the properties it requires, secrecy of the vote, verifiability
-
of the vote, control of scrutiny, all that already exists by means of cryptographic techniques,
-
There are technical solutions so that electronic voting can happen like this and it is well
-
implemented in places like Switzerland precisely but we have the political aspect that is or is
-
decided from the political power that all the tools that are going to be introduced for
-
the democratic area in this regard of the vote are going to be free software or we're going to have
-
to rely on that authority because we really will not see cryptographic techniques that
-
will guarantee that we will not finally see a manipulation behind.
-
Well, they tell me that in time we do not go very well then three things nothing more.
-
This mechanism of democracy that we are implementing and thanks to free software is
-
spreading all over the world, a little time ago if we had seen that Madrid
-
was exporting democracy to Europe the world would have said that was crazy,
-
that was never going to happen.
-
Is not the panacea this mechanism is not the panacea
But if we know that it is much better for those sites
-
where it is working that is much better
that what we have all the politicians,
-
they said everything and that there are about 4 politicians and
4 experts who decide on everything.
-
We know that this produces better results
It's a question of results.
-
Second, emmm this is global, ie this is not a
thing that is happening here because it seems
-
as in Spain has dislocated a little
politics and then has broken in Podemos
-
and then Ciudadanos have risen and then
there is a thing as well as parliamentary
-
it seems that there is change here
This is a global thing, this is happening
-
in more than 100 countries I know cases from
around the world where similar experiences are occurring
-
what happens in each place is different,
in each site occur differently
-
but there is a common thread that is that citizens
and citizens who did not have 5 years ago
-
the intention to change things at the political level
And who did not think of us
-
and in a we are going to change things now
they are saying hey we are in an important moment
-
we are playing it and things are really
happening that require our attention, right?
-
And this is happening at the global level,
we are at a crucial point because
-
that will depend on whether we have better or
worse societies and the last is that despite
-
that also this from the scenarios so eh
It does not help either already someone has mentioned it
-
It is very important to understand that this is not
going to be 4 experts who have decided as to where to go
-
free software and where the tools of direct democracy
have to go and how ... this does not have to go
-
of all and all and this implies that you and you can
get into the repositories of the Madrid tool
-
is called the application consul and participate
and that everything we are doing in all
-
free software projects and administrations in this regard
-
is yours then it is not so much that we
or "X" or 4 or that Pablo Iglesias on TV discusses
-
I do not know who to tell who is right, right? ,
this has to go from that we all get
-
the reins of society and you and you are
at a very important point
-
that is the technology and that is going
to be what I said 7 times but I think
-
it is very important to understand that
we are in one of those pivotal points
-
I do not know how to say it, well, a balance point
where we can go...well, you've seen
-
Trump in the USA, right? And the other may
occur as well as many very different things may occur
-
and technology is very important right
now and it is in your hands.
-
Thank you.