A pages/blog/free-sw-censor.md

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+---
+template:
+url: free-sw-censor
+title: Free software should not censor
+subtitle: If you write free software, don't deny freedom zero
+date: 2021-04-07
+---
+
+Any software is free, if it grants the users the four essential
+freedoms:
+
+- **freedom 0**: The freedom to run the program as you wish, for any
+  purpose.
+- **freedom 1**: The freedom to study how the program works, and change
+  it so it does your computing as you wish 
+- **freedom 2**: The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help
+  others.
+- **freedom 3**: The freedom to distribute copies of your modified
+  versions to others.
+
+Denying any one of these freedoms makes your software nonfree. As it
+happens, some free software project maintainers think it's OK to impose
+their political / ideological stances on who can use their software, and
+for what purpose it can be used. They are violating the zeroth freedom
+to advance their political agendas. Here are a couple of examples.
+
+## case one: Tusky
+
+Tusky is a free software (GPL 3.0) Android client for the fediverse --
+thematically, Mastodon. They [Rick Roll users who try to connect to
+instances](https://github.com/tuskyapp/Tusky/pull/1303) they disagree
+with. You don't get to decide for your users! And the irony here is its
+a client for a supposedly censorship-resistant network. This is in
+violation of freedom zero.
+
+Funnily enough, Tusky recently got [removed from the Play
+Store](https://chaos.social/@ConnyDuck/105904002285019275) for serving
+"objectionable content".
+
+> They don't seem to understand that one can view any content with Tusky
+> and that it is not possible for the app developers to check any of it.
+> -- https://chaos.social/@ConnyDuck/105904015276457450
+
+A blatant lie! Doesn't feel good when someone else decides things for
+you, now, does it?
+
+## case two: Lemmy
+
+Also a fediverse application -- a federated Reddit clone (AGPL 3.0).
+They have a [hardcoded slur
+filter](https://github.com/LemmyNet/lemmy/issues/622) that they refuse
+to remove, or at the very least, make configurable. This is just plain
+bad engineering for the sake of politics.
+
+Both of these software are released under free software licenses, and
+are clearly nonfree. Stop doing this -- it benefits nobody. You probably
+feel like you're "making a change", but guess what: you're not. It is
+mere virtue signalling. Don't enforce your political agendas on your
+users.
+
+Censorship is bad for everyone, and it usually never ends well.  There
+is no "correct" way to censor -- so don't even try! If you don't want
+your software to be "misused", release it under a license that is
+capable of enforcing that.[^1]
+
+[^1]: Protip: you can't. Ethical source licenses exist, but they're
+  practically dead in the water.

M pages/wiki/_index.md → pages/wiki/_index.md

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 ---
 title: the wiki
 subtitle: Ideas, thoughts and strongy held opinions.
-date: 2021-04-07
+date: 2021-04-09
 template: page.html
 ---