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<title>Why call it the Swindle |
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- GNU Project - Free Software Foundation</title> |
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<div class="article reduced-width"> |
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<h2>Why Call It The Swindle?</h2> |
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|
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<address class="byline">by <a href="https://www.stallman.org/">Richard |
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Stallman</a></address> |
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|
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<p>I go out of my way to call nasty things by names that criticize |
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them. I call Apple's user-subjugating computers the |
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“iThings,” and Amazon's abusive e-reader the |
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“Swindle.” Sometimes I refer to Microsoft's operating |
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system as “Losedows”; I referred to Microsoft's first |
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operating system as “MS-Dog.”[<a href="#f1">1</a>] Of |
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course, I do this to vent my feelings and have fun. But this fun is |
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more than personal; it serves an important purpose. Mocking our |
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enemies recruits the power of humor into our cause.</p> |
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|
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<p>Twisting a name is disrespectful. If we respected the makers of |
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these products, we would use the names that they chose … and that's |
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exactly the point. These noxious products deserve our contempt, not |
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our respect. Every proprietary program subjects its users to some |
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entity's power, but nowadays most widely used ones go beyond that to spy on |
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users, restrict them and even push them around: the trend is for |
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products to get nastier. These products deserve to be wiped out. Those |
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with DRM ought to be illegal.</p> |
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|
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<p>When we mention them, we should show that we condemn them, and what |
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easier way than by twisting their names? If we don't do that, it is |
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all too easy to mention them and fail to present the condemnation. |
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When the product comes up in the middle of some other topic, for |
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instance, explaining at greater length that the product is bad might |
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seem like a long digression.</p> |
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|
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<p>To mention these products by name and fail to condemn them has the |
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effect of legitimizing them, which is the opposite of what they call |
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for.</p> |
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|
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<p>Companies choose names for products as part of a marketing plan. |
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They choose names they think people will be likely to repeat, then |
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invest millions of dollars in marketing campaigns to make people |
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repeat and think about those names. Usually these marketing |
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campaigns are intended to convince people to admire the products based |
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on their superficial attractions and overlook the harm they do.</p> |
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|
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<p>Every time we call these products by the names the companies use, |
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we contribute to their marketing campaigns. Repeating those names is |
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active support for the products; twisting them denies the products our |
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support.</p> |
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|
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<p>Other terminology besides product names can raise a similar issue. |
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For instance, DRM refers to building technology products to restrict |
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their users for the benefit of someone else. This inexcusable practice |
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deserves our burning hatred until we wipe it out. Naturally, those |
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responsible gave it a name that frames the issue from their point of |
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view: “Digital Rights Management.” This name is the basis |
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of a public relations campaign that aims to win support from entities |
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ranging from governments to the W3C.[<a href="#f2">2</a>]</p> |
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|
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<p>To use their term is to take their side. If that's not the side |
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you're on, why give it your implicit support?</p> |
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|
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<p>We take the users' side, and from the users' point of view, what |
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these malfeatures manage are not rights but restrictions. So we call |
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them “Digital Restrictions Management.”</p> |
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|
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<p>Neither of those terms is neutral: choose a term, and you choose a |
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side. Please choose the users' side and please let it show.</p> |
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|
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<p>Once, a man in the audience at my speech claimed that the name |
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“Digital Rights Management” was the official name of |
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“DRM,” the only |
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possible correct name, because it was the first name. He argued that |
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as a consequence it was wrong for us to say “Digital Restrictions |
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Management.”</p> |
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|
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<p>Those who make a product or carry out a business practice typically |
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choose a name for it before we even know it exists. If their temporal |
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precedence obligated us to use their name, they would have an |
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additional automatic advantage, on top of their money, their media |
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influence and their technological position. We would have to fight |
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them with our mouths tied behind our backs.</p> |
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|
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<p>Some people feel a distaste for twisting names and say it sounds |
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“juvenile” or “unprofessional.” What they mean |
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is, it doesn't sound humorless and stodgy—and that's a good |
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thing, because we would not have laughter on our side if we tried to |
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sound “professional.” Fighting oppression is far more |
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serious than professional work, so we've got to add comic relief. It |
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calls for real maturity, which includes some childishness, not |
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“acting like an adult.”</p> |
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|
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<p>If you don't like our choice of name parodies, you can invent your |
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own. The more, the merrier. Of course, there are other ways to express |
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condemnation. If you want to sound “professional,” you can |
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show it in other ways. They can get the point across, but they |
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require more time and effort, especially if you don't make use of |
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mockery. Take care this does not lead you to skimp; don't let the |
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pressure against such “digression” push you into |
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insufficiently criticizing the nasty things you mention, because that |
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would have the effect of legitimizing them.</p> |
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<div class="column-limit"></div> |
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|
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<h3 class="footnote">Footnotes</h3> |
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|
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<ol> |
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<li id="f1">Take action against these products: |
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<a href="https://u.fsf.org/ithings">u.fsf.org/ithings</a>, |
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<a href="https://u.fsf.org/swindle">u.fsf.org/swindle</a>, |
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<a href="https://u.fsf.org/ebookslist">u.fsf.org/ebookslist</a>, |
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<a href="https://upgradefromwindows.org">upgradefromwindows.org</a> |
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</li> |
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<li id="f2"><a href="https://u.fsf.org/drm">u.fsf.org/drm</a></li> |
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</ol> |
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<p>Copyright © 2013, 2021 Richard Stallman</p> |
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