[Ubuntu-SG] Going back ontopic: Previously: Should we "Say No to Piracy"?

[suhaw koh]

Hi Tom,

Call me naive, and thank you for listening.  Let me put forth my line of
thinking on why we should consider being HIP. :-)

IPOS is a government organisation staffed by civil servants.  Say what you
want, but their mandate is to serve the people.  And I can personally vouch
for many civil servants friends who are really committed to serving the
people in the best way they know how.  Because, behind the organisational
front of the gahmen, they are still individual human beings like yourself
and myself.  They have families, parents, siblings and children like the
rest of us.  And it is very much in their interest to help make society
better for everybody.

But you got to give them a chance.  One problem with Singapore society
(compared to the developed Western societies) is that we lack strong
civil/civic organisations.  AWARE is an exception to the rule and see how
some religious folks tried to take them over.  While we have many strong
religious organisations (think Soka at NDPs for another example), the only
big community group(s) I can think of come under the stat board called
People's Association.

So, in the absence of strong grassroots movements, big companies get to
dominate the stage and have their voices/interests heard by the government
officials.  It is no wonder that our government seem to echo the big
companies when the only groups lobbying them are the companies.

You may ask why we should engage the government.  Very simply: the
government is there to serve the people's interests and they have massive
resources to allocate in the name of the public good.

Of course they won't shower us with money just because we ask them, but if
we can make out a case that what we are doing is in the public interest and
we can use their help (and in which aspect/manner), I am reasonably
confident that we can make some headway.  At the very least, we won't know
whether it will work until we try.

If you accept or at least generally agree with the above, now, to apply to
our current situation.

IPOS is a government organisation staffed with intelligent and educated
individuals.  HIP is currently populated by many "Open Source-unfriendly"
organisations who try to influence IPOS's agenda.  But there is no reason
why HIP has to be "Open Source-unfriendly".

HIP's stated aims are:

"The HIP Alliance is a group of Government agencies, private organisations
and industry associations with a common interest in pursuing the need for
education on IP.

In partnership with the HIP Alliance members, the Alliance rallies people to
respect and reward original creative works by Saying NO! to Piracy. "

It does NOT state it is against Open Source nor does it prescribe how IP
should be respected.  Imho, the reason why HIP is so quiet about Open Source
is because our views are not represented... yet.

The way I see it, kids like to explore and are naturally resistant towards
software priced for companies and working adults.  Student versions tend to
be crippled or cumbersome to activate.  An exposure to Open Source would
open up many possibilities and will go a long way towards getting students
to respect and honour IP.  At the very least, it will break down some
barriers that kids harbour against IP by dispelling the notion that IP must
equal to expensive software.  IP can also mean free Open Source software.
 In fact, as both mentioned a few times in this discussion, without IP, Open
Source falls apart completely.  The key is that IP protects the author's
rights.  The fact that big companies are making tonnes of money is a result,
not the fundamental basis.

Personally, I believe in empowerment as opposed to restrictions.  I see IP
as empowering even if there are corporate interests in restricting.
 Unfortunately, the message out there for the kids is that IP is very
restricting.  By promoting Open Source, we help to show them that IP can be
very empowering too.

And that is very much in line with what IPOS aims for: educating the
students (especially teenagers) to respect and honour IP.

As such, if we were to embark on the Schools project I mentioned in earlier
emails, that project will further IPOS's aims and it is in their interest to
support us as then they can add this on their list of things (like KPI) they
have done towards their stated aims.

Cheers.



suhaw


2009/6/23 Tom Goh <tomgohj at gmail.com>

> suhaw koh wrote:
> > Going back ontopic, should we at least engage HIP ?  Or should we sit
> > back and let the pro-business interests dictate the agenda ?
>
> What do you plan to achieve by joining and what will be your plan of
> action once joined?
>
> I will keep and open mind and if it is convincing I will support this
> initiative.
>
> <<< Pardon me for deleting the earlier stuff so that we can focus on the
> topic >>>
>



-- 
________________________
Koh Su Haw  许树浩
http://suhaw.teresaville.org/
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