From 33ba10a3b5c28515a22a62736837b37a959e8ba2 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Christophe de Dinechin Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2023 08:51:59 +0200 Subject: [PATCH] Add freedom covenant to that repository Signed-off-by: Christophe de Dinechin --- FREEDOM_COVENANT.txt | 311 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 311 insertions(+) create mode 100644 FREEDOM_COVENANT.txt diff --git a/FREEDOM_COVENANT.txt b/FREEDOM_COVENANT.txt new file mode 100644 index 00000000..3ffb1153 --- /dev/null +++ b/FREEDOM_COVENANT.txt @@ -0,0 +1,311 @@ + THE FREEDOM COVENANT + + Version 1.06, March 30, 2021 + + +Free Software is all about freedom. This freedom, as Richard Stallman repeatedly +pointed out, is not about "free beer", but about "free speech". In other words, +the freedom of free software corresponds not to the French word "gratuit", but +to a much nobler word, "Liberté", the first of the three pillars of the French +motto, "Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité". + +Freedom has always been under attack, and this goes way beyond Free Software. +The natural tendency of human beings is to grab power, and achieving that +objective very often requires, in the mind of the power grabber, the restriction +of freedom of others. From shrink-wrap licenses to dictatorial regimes, the same +principle applies in a continuum: restricting someone's freedom to gain power. +This friction between the liberties of different individuals is where most +conflicts come from. + +This desire to restrict the freedom of others also lives deep within each of us. +It takes courageous individuals to go against that innate desire for power and +truly defend freedom. Courage is required because accepting the freedom for +others often requires a deliberate and conscious restraint of one's own. + +In addition to courage, defending freedom could use tools and methods, because +our daily routine makes it easy to overlook admirable core principles. +Our words and our deeds rarely align. Doing is harder than wishing. + +This is the reason for this covenant, which anyone can freely adopt as a +reminder of what it takes to truly respect the freedom of others. +Here are the guiding principles of this covenant: + + 0. Act out of love + 1. Speak the truth + 2. Share your facts + 3. Mind your feelings + 4. Keep your opinions + 5. Forgive and apologize + 6. Discuss + 7. Contribute and be thankful + 8. Provide friendly feedback + 9. Act out of love + +By publicly adhering to this covenant, or any variant thereof that suits your +personal taste better, you simply state that these principles are in line with +how you want to act, and you encourage others to gently remind you of these +principles should you violate them. + + + END OF THE FREEDOM COVENANT + +-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + + USAGE + +If you agree with this covenant, simply share it along, for example by putting +it in your repositories, on your web sites or linking to it in your signature. + +If you disagree with part or all of the wording, feel free to adapt it to your +preference or even write your own freedom covenant. + +Should you make alterations to this text that you think are valuable to others, +please share them back through the repositories below. I will do my best to +integrate the changes that I personally like (which includes any correction to +spelling or grammar), and to record changes I dislike as publicly visible git +branches in the repository so that others can choose them at their preference. + + https://github.com/c3d/freedom-covenant + https://gitlab.com/c3d/freedom-covenant + +Free Software projects are encouraged to adopt this covenant as a guideline, +with the full understanding that adhering to such a covenant can only be a +personal and free decision, and should never be required from anyone. +This covenant is specifically not written as an enforceable code of conduct. + +-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + + + DISCUSSION + +Here is a more in-depth discussion of the meaning of the principles outlined +above, highlighting how and why they relate to freedom. + + +0. Act out of love + +The best contributors to Free Software are often very passionate individuals, +who can talk about their projects for hours, and more if beer is involved. +This passion can be harnessed in a positive way, but it can also easily lead +down a destructive path, including anger or hatred. + +Love, whether for individuals or for the projects or products you work on, is +the best remedy against such negative passions. By loving others, you can fully +enjoy their freedom, and be happy with them when they exercise it. + +When individuals you love do something that you disagree with, acting out of +love will ensure that you seek a resolution that is in their best interest, +instead of attempting to gain control over them and restrain their freedom. + +Even in the worst case, we should seek to act towards one another like a parent +teaching a misbehaving kid more than like a cop putting a criminal in jail. + + +1. Speak the truth + +Freedom applies to yourself, and that includes your right to say what you +believe to be true, irrespective of what others may think about it. + +If you are in a position where you cannot say what you truly believe, your +liberty has already been infringed upon. It is already way past time to find the +courage to speak up. Be ready for the consequences, because those who reveal +inconvenient truths are not welcome by those who need silence to preserve +their own power. This is one of the prices to pay for freedom. + +Like all others, this principle is subject to principle 0. You may choose to +refrain from stating things that you believe to be true, simply because they may +cause harm to others. You need to carefully balance the need for openness and +transparency with the right to privacy or beliefs. + +Be mindful that you don't own the objective truth. You can at best state what +you sincerely believe is true. As a result, you need to fully accept that +others, following the same guiding principle, may still end up with a different +or even opposite belief. Speaking the truth requires remaining open to the truth +at all times, and therefore being ready to change your mind. + +The right to shout "fire" in a crowded theater is often cited as an example of +limit to free speech. But if there is a fire, you should feel obligated to shout +"fire" even if this may cause a panic and other harm. + + +2. Share your facts + +True freedom depends on accurate information. Nobody can make an informed +decision without having correct data. + +Therefore, your respect for the freedom of others requires that you share any +fact you have that is relevant to their own decision making. This sharing +should include not just the conclusions, but also ways for others to verify your +facts, such as sources, tools or methods. + +To understand how this relates to freedom, imagine that you get run over by a +bus. Do others around you still have a way to make progress without you? If not, +would it be because you held onto a parcel of personal power? Deliberately +holding to information may grant you a little bit of power, but it comes at the +expense of the freedom of others. + + +3. Mind your feelings + +We all have feelings, and they may be overwhelming. Unlike facts, however, +feelings are difficult to share and communicate, and they are often not directly +relevant or applicable to others. + +As a result, there are two equally bad ways to deal with feelings: bottling them +up, or treating them as universal facts. + +Bottling feelings up is bad, because it will lead you to behaviors that will +appear erratic or hard to understand to others. In doing so, you deprive them of +facts that are actually relevant in their interaction with you. + +On the other hand, your feelings are not universally acceptable facts. They are +personal emotions that others may not feel at all. This includes feelings such +as outrage, pride, joy or love. + +It is perfectly OK to share that you are outraged by someone's actions, but it +is not acceptable to demand that everyone be outraged the same way, just as it +is ridiculous to assume that everyone loves chocolate simply because you do. + + +4. Keep your opinions + +Like feelings, opinions are personal. Like feelings, they can be shared, but +they will not be universally accepted. + +If you have trouble distinguishing facts from opinions, a good rule of thumb is +that opinions are ideas others can disagree with. The vast majority of what we +often incorrectly treat as facts are, in reality, mere opinions. This includes +all the statements in this document, which represent only the opinions of its +author. + +Freedom includes the freedom of opinion. This means that you can keep your +opinion and do not have to subject it to any kind of majority rule. Dissenting +opinions are what fuel progress in science. Of course, try to be as informed as +possible in your opinions, but remain aware of what you don't know. + +Treat your opinions and the opinions of others with the same respect. If you +cannot hear a dissenting viewpoint without feeling uncomfortable, work on +yourself before trying to change other people's minds -- if only because the +chances that you can change yourself are somewhat higher. + +Try to acknowledge disagreement in a way that maintains the dialogue open. +It may be better to use a phrase like "I learned something today" than a phrase +like "let's agree to disagree", if and when the latter can be misinterpreted +as "end of discussion". + + +5. Forgive and apologize + +We all make mistakes. What makes a difference is how we deal with them. + +Even without any ill-will or deliberate intent, we may cause harm. Apologies +help soothe bad feelings, irrespective of any objective fault. I am often not +the best person to judge if someone else was harmed by what I did, so I'd better +be cautious and conservative about it. Feel free to apologize even if you truly +believe you did nothing wrong. + +The necessary counterpart to apologies is true forgiveness. Forgiveness is not +about forgetting problems, but about putting them behind us. Since we are +creatures of habit, we often repeat our mistakes, so we often need to forgive +the same person multiple times for the same offense. This is a mark of true +courage and strength. + +Apologies and forgiveness restore our freedom. They allow us to return to a +normal train of thought that is not obsessed with the harm done. + + +6. Discuss + +We are social creatures, and we cannot truly be free if we are isolated. +To make any progress together, we need a constant exchange of ideas, an ongoing +discussion. Interrupted dialogue is often the first sign of something going +wrong. + +The style of the discussion is something that is extremely personal. Individuals +who are closer to one another will often speed up the discussion by using more +direct language than they would with more distant third parties. + +On our modern electronic communication channels, this often leads to incorrect +interpretation of the "tone" of the discussion, because the person who wrote had +one particular person in mind, but the message is read personally by all +others. This has been the source of many misinterpretations. + +This is why it is extremely important to remember the earlier principles during +any discussion, and notably to be able to separate facts, feelings and opinions, +as well as to express quick apologies and forgiveness. + +Debate ideas, not people. Criticizing or rejecting an idea is generally accepted +whereas criticizing or rejecting a person is generally more problematic, and can +even lead to violence or hatred. + +A good discussion increases the level of love, trust and respect between +participants. This is the true measure of success. + + +7. Contribute and be thankful + +An often under-appreciated aspect of Free Software is the freedom to contribute. +Yet this freedom is the primary reason for the success of the movement. + +Free Software is an incredible gift, that now powers many aspects of our lives. +We need to be thankful for all the amazing contributors who dedicate time and +talent to this collective endeavour. + +One way to be thankful is to improve on the existing work, and to add your own +personal piece to it. Free Software is that place where even correcting someone +else's mistake is seen as a true mark of appreciation and respect. This constant +feedback loop is what makes Free Software so good. Anyone willing is welcome to +contribute. Nobody needs anyone else's permission to get started. + +This does not just apply to code, but to the community as well. Discussion, +debate and even sharp criticism are essential to achieving true freedom. +In particular, criticism of problematic individual behaviors is necessary, and +happens regularly. However, our love for the code and for the contributors means +that our objective should always be improvement, not destruction. + + +8. Provide friendly feedback + +Nothing we do is ever perfect, and Free Software is no exception. Bad code, bad +processes or bad behaviors are inevitable, and we continuously seek to redress +such situations. Good code, good processes and good behaviors are much harder to +achieve. They require a lot of effort, and require ongoing motivation and +continuous engagement. + +Therefore, praise liberally and publicly, show appreciation whenever you can. +A mere "thank you" goes a long way towards making someone have a nice day. +Showing sincere signs of appreciation is the most efficient guide to greatness. + +Conversely, show restraint and moderation in your negative judgments. +Having a negative opinion of a piece of code or of an individual is part of your +fundamental freedom. But it is rarely productive to express it aloud. +Complaining publicly that some code is a piece of crap never fixed a bug. +Privately holding that opinion, on the other hand, may be a powerful motivator +to fix that sad piece of utter junk obviously written by a drunk monkey - Oh, +wait, that was me! + +Should a need arise for some kind of more serious corrective action, try to do +so in a way that respects the individual freedoms of everyone at hand. Remain +friendly, and always seek a positive resolution. + +Start with friendly, private feedback, stating as clearly as possible the +problem that you see and the most important improvement that you have in mind. +If that fails, consider bringing a small group of individuals to discuss the +problem. If you need to resort to a vote or similar arbitration mechanism to +resolve a conflict, be ready to accept an outcome that does not go your way. + +Coercive actions, public threats, insults or collective retaliation are almost +never justified nor justifiable, because they infringe on the basic freedom of +the targets of the action. Irrespective of who is involved, such actions run +directly counter to the most fundamental value of Free Software, freedom. + +It is always more difficult to discuss, convince and forgive than to silence, +coerce and punish. However, it remains the right thing to do, because this is +the only approach that truly respects individual freedoms. + + +9. Act out of love + +This brings us back full circle. + +Acting out of love brings the best in us as well as in the community.