Andrew
I know that the users groups of the major vendors had resistance from members in the 60s and 70s, though I think it was slightly different from Stallmans movement. It was really a fight against vendors power in the early software age. IBM had announced that they would unbundle and that seemed to allow many options but the big vendors were slow to move. Especially when many believed that the hardware vendors would still provide tools such as compilers. My Dad faced a showdown in the Burroughs user group in the fall of 1969 or the spring of 1970. He was in touch with the IBM and Univac user groups an knew that they were having similar problems. The users would disrupt the meetings and demand that something be done about it. It lasted for about a year. Dad restructured the user group meetings to address it. This was also the time when the hardware vendors started to realize that they were not going control software.
David
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David Alan Grier
Fellow, IEEE
2013 President, IEEE Computer Society
Assoc Prof, George Washington University
Hello everyone -This question (via Dave Farber's list) seemed like a good one for SIGCIS members to think about. My first thought is that answers would depend on one's definition of each of the operative terms (campaign, computer, user, freedom) :-)AndyPS you might cc Stallman and Farber on any responses that have examples of earlier 'campaigns.'Begin forwarded message:---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Richard Stallman" <rms@gnu.org>
Date: Aug 4, 2012 1:43 AM
Subject: When was first campaign for computer users' freedom
To: <dave@farber.net>
The free software movement, a campaign for computer users' freedom,
started in 1983.
Do you know of any other campaigns for computer users' freedom prior
to that? I don't mean the same specific issue (free vs proprietary
software), I mean any issue of freedom from unjust power, specifically
in regard to computer users or computer use.
The reason I'm asking is that the free software movement might have
been the first such campaign, but I can't sure yet.
--
Dr Richard Stallman
President, Free Software Foundation
51 Franklin St
Boston MA 02110
USA
www.fsf.org www.gnu.org
Skype: No way! That's nonfree (freedom-denying) software.
Use free telephony http://directory.fsf.org/category/tel/
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