All Posts
Why I won't sign the "Internet For Democracy" Petition
The online petition of the week, at least in Europe, is called “Internet for Democracy - Shut Down the Europarliament. Now!". I will not sign it, and I recommend everybody to do the same. However, I do suggest that everybody reads it because it’s about very general issues that you should really, really think about.
Why every citizen should read the Open Government book
Open Government - Collaboration, Transparency, and Participation in Practice is a book (DISCLAIMER: I’m one of the authors, see below) that explains how governments and local Public Administrations can use digital technologies to work more efficiently, save lots of taxpayers money and let citizens control what public officers are actually doing. Why is something like this very important for all citizens? Because, as I already explained in the Online Loser Guide, digital technologies and the Internet can be either a huge help to make real democracy happen, or just a new, more powerful system for centralized control.
When and how can Free Software really save public money?
A few days ago, during an email conversation about efficient public services and waste of money in Public Administrations, I had to answer a couple of questions. Since those answers may interest many other people, here they are.
Mr Label's nightmare: what really, really scares him
Author’s note: I wrote the short “novel” below in… June 2004. For several reasons I didn’t immediately publish it online, then it went lost on my hard drive. I found it again only some weeks ago, and I think the basic idea is still valid, so here it is.
What should we do with Free Software users who don't contribute to it in any way?
(Notes added on 2017/12/06):
- links and formatting were updated on 2017/12/06)
- now you may help fix the underlying cultural and awareness problems mentioned here, also by suggesting the right concepts for this book
This page, unlike the rest of Stop!, is not written for the general public. It only addresses the community of Free/Open Source advocates. That’s why it isn’t listed in the home page: it is always related to the general theme of the website (which is how technology, especially digital could improve our lives) and it’s more convenient to publish it here, but it’s not for the usual readers of the Stop.
Digital Culture online course for parents, teachers and everybody else!
Here is a new online course, one teaching concepts that every parent, teacher or other educator should know. Please write me (mfioretti, at nexaima.net) or contact directly VIS if you are interested in an English edition.