2009/1/1 Raj Mathur raju@linux-delhi.org:
Maybe I'm being totally stupid here, but would someone explain what
I will try talk about some possible scenarios. It might be that, they have never thought about it, but providing here just for the sake of argument.
advantage control of FSF India or the free software movement here would bring to any political party?
The name.
We don't control any voters (heck, we find it hard enough to agree on anything within the community itself!)
But what about the thousands of IT professionals who are not yet in the community, but could be brought in using an established name such a FSF India or Free Software community.
We don't own large means of producing capital.
We don't listen to diktats or whips from anyone.
But new community members may go their way than our way.
We are notoriously difficult to herd.
Again we are missing tha lrge number of unorganised IT professional pool of workers who could be brought in.
We all have our independent views of local, national and international politics and events.
Again same for new member, if given a chance they could talk about their ideas. Like discussions on India-US nuclear deal when you meet for coffee after a Free Software meet.
Our objectives are rarely the same as the objectives of any party. Even when the objectives converge, the reasons for and often the means of achieving those objectives are widely divergent.
We are giving them a chance to talk to a large pool of voters which they can't approach directly.
If I were a political party I'd keep my politics as far as possible from this community, lest my existing followers also be tainted by the spirit of independence and iconoclasm that the community evinces :)
The whole point as I visualise is the chance to organise the IT industry.
Note: All of this is pure speculations, just to fill the curiosity of Raj (what could be possible). I don't have any proof of any of this happening or discussed. And I do appreciate the efforts party making to promote Free Software.
- Praveen