free software resistance

 the cost of computing freedom is eternal vigilance

### developers-and-teacher-arrogance *originally posted:* nov 2023 it isnt a big mystery what makes a good teacher- people who went to school tend to recall their best teachers and their worst. some people were pushed forward by their teachers in one way or another, and some will repaint memories of abuse with the outcomes that happened despite this- theres no question that abusive developers gain a similar benefit- systemd is one of the best examples. but whatever you think of this project, or your teachers, in general it is possible to look for the best traits in the best teachers who imparted and shared their love of learning- without beating their students into submission first. one of the things that i think is most important in a society where computers affect so much of our lives, is teaching basic computer literacy. originally, this was NOT application use, but computing basics. applications are abstractions over computing basics, and these abstractions get shuffled arund all the time to create a fashion industry for software. im not saying thats all bad- we should experiment with fashion, but it shouldnt rule our lives. it should be something we choose, rather than have imposed. then it can be a good thing. and a real education gets past the ever changing fashion to the fundamentals that are necessary, to understand computers from one trend to the next. if you arent teaching this, you havent taught computers- youve trained obedient animals to jump through different kinds of hoops. even too much of a good thing, like fashion is sometimes- can hardly be said to be chosen. if theres too much, it is either being imposed or imposing itself. none of which is to take away the element of responsibility. people have a responsibility to themselves to avoid an egregious, detrimental amount of any good thing. and as a society we should also help each other with regards to this. but arrogant teachers do not impart a love of learning, they instill- by any means necessary. they belittle, they abuse, they use their positions in service of their egos, not in the service of education. they teach, yes- they teach fear, helplessness, they teach that they are superior and their students inferior. they leave students with a visceral fear of learning, so that when people finally get out of school they live their lives in aversion to learning- not a love of learning, but a trauma. if you think i am describing myself here, i have loved to learn since before i attended school. i devour learning, though absolutely there are areas (i suck at math- the greatest thing i can really do is plot a circle with cos and sin, and you can attain that knowledge in high school or earlier) where i understand the fear of learning. it is the frustration with certain things. but i didnt have exceptional teachers in every subject- i more often taught myself, and there are things i couldnt teach that no one else taught me either. but the best teaching is uplifting- not just superficially, with encouragement and rewards and pats on the back- im not knocking those things, but its about more than that. when you uplift someone in this fashion, the learning is an exchange- you learn how to be an ever better teacher, plus whatever else you learn from them- and you thus make a student of yourself and a teacher of your student. these roles switch repeatedly, and everyone walks away knowing more- and having greater confidence and love of learning. that of course is an ideal, but its not so uncommon. many people have had at least a teacher or two they remember being the best. sometimes it was in a subject they would have never expected to love, like history- i think history is very important, but i didnt care about it until i was done with school. history is a powerful tool for understanding politics and even technology. the history of computers has always fascinated me. history helps put things we take for granted in context. i taught myself that- but so could a good history teacher. developers too, uplift users and impart not only knowledge but share their power. most developers dont do this, but the best ones can in some way. i have only spoken to leah rowe a few times for example, but leahs love of what they do is inspiring- leah shares bits of the process with the public, and sometimes learning is incidental- you arent always strapped to a desk having knowledge shoved into your ear, but you could be on a walk, and meet someone who tells you something you never expected to learn. leah is often the latter kind of teacher. and also one of my favourite developers, for this very reason- not because i care so much about firmware. its very unlikely ill ever write firmware. but there are lessons in leahs projects that can make us a little more familiar, take away some of the mystery and make it all a little more accessible- if you simply walk towards the field they put out and absorb a little of the familiarity you will get from simply being AROUND one of their projects for a few minutes. thats NATURAL, organic teaching. the difference between this and a more formal setting with a natural teacher, is the formality. theres a time for that too, but the real magic is in the teaching, in the sharing, in the uplifting. the real magic of the best developers is they are giving more than just code or a program to users- they are sharing their power. and i hope its clear, i dont think every developer needs to become a teacher- that would be ideal, but unlikely. rather, i think the best developers and the best teachers have similar traits at heart. the opposite of these traits are arrogance and self-servedness. they always fault users, they never learn from them. they dont care what pain their work causes people- users serve their goals, not the other way. often these traits are instilled by corporations, but people who yearn to serve power rather than users are romanced by these negative traits. they are plain to see in too many developers, this arrogance, this hatred of users and this imposing upon users. people will defend these traits by reversing the blame, and saying that it is a misunderstanding, it is people just not trying hard enough or not wanting to learn. bad teachers say the same things. they never blame their own intentions or shortcomings as teachers. they dont try to improve, rather they resign to critiquing everyone they cant help. just like the worst developers do. there is no prejudice in saying these things. i love good teachers, and good developers are a wonderful thing. we need education as well as development. but often the system is broken and serves goals that are broken. these goals, this system, leads to many more things being broken- to users who once loved to learn and loved software, who now feel disenfranchised- to students who loved learning UNTIL they went to school. for many years, school sapped my love for reading by taking away everything that makes it enjoyable. i nearly had to relearn my love for reading. but these judgments of users and students alike are often superficial. the lack in these teachers and developers is often profound. the worst schools and worst developers court sheer obedience. while good developers, like good teachers, lead to people who ask more questions and ENJOY learning more, rather than avoiding it. you can tell both by the love of learning and software that they have instilled in others. but you can also tell by the fringes. the best teachers and developers, dont only serve the mainstream. their magic goes beyond that, and even sometimes helps those who were struggling before. today, a lot of developers really do suck. i mean, that isnt new- it predates the gnu project. but there are still developers who have that extra magic- leah is one of them, theo de raadt is one of them, and once you have good examples, its easier to find good teachers, good developers- and good software. and just as education needs more good teachers and yes, the system makes it more difficult to be one- the system makes it more difficult to be a good developer, and we also need more of those. license: 0-clause bsd ``` # 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 # # Permission to use, copy, modify, and/or distribute this software for any # purpose with or without fee is hereby granted. # # THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE AUTHOR DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES # WITH REGARD TO THIS SOFTWARE INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF # MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR # ANY SPECIAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES # WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN # ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF # OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE. ``` => https://freesoftwareresistance.neocities.org