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Free Culture

A Hacker Manifesto

Interesting new book on a principle I’ve been talking about for a while:

A Hacker Manifesto

Eyebeam ask how you can write a manifesto for a movement you’re not part of, and whether Eric Raymond hasn’t already said everything on the subject.

The book is an outsider’s application of the hacker ethic to broader social and economic concerns than just writing software. It is not addressed to the existing hacker crowd. So it’s not a manifesto for a movement the writer is not part of, rather it’s someone bringing that movement’s content to the attention of a wider audience. That is to be applauded.

Eric Raymond’s main contribution to hacker culture has been watering down the ideology of Free Software to appeal to incumbent corporate interests. He doesn’t understand how cathedrals were built (as multi-generational, iterative realisations of a vision rather than as micro-managed waterfall projects), and the problems he has with current “””open source””” are a product of the flaws in his own arguments.

Good posting critical of ESR’s writings.