Web Strike - 1st of June

I would very much like for IrishAstronomy.org to partake in the web strike to protest against Software Patents being introduced in Europe.

This would involve replacing the site with a page that says "This page is down for one day in support of the Web strike against fostware patents in Europe" and a link to some more details.

Basically software Patents (as opposed to copyright) is a very bad and dangerous thing. It would allow large corporations to own "Ideas" and prevent anyone else from implementing other versions of the same idea. It would be an end to cometition, and end to small software companies and probably an end to the free software movement. In short it would be a disaster that would only benefit large multinatinal corporations and will hurt comumers and the little guys.

There boards would be directly affected. THey are run using free software, namely the Apache Webserver, PHP and a MySQL database server and the phpBB Buliten Board system. All these products are freeware and all would suffer if software patents were brought in.

Hence, I would urge you all to vote infavour of us partaking in this strike.

Bart B.,
IFAS Webmaster.

I agree with you bart as i think it is a slippery slope that this would lead us down. I teach Web design in a PLC College and if not for freeware software. Our software bill for that one subject alone would be running into the thousands. as it is i use all freeware HTML Coders and Image Editors. I for one am in total support of this

To say this would be the end of software such as mysql and php, is simply wrong. These groups, and mysql is now a decent sized company that charges for its software, have managed to start up and thrive in the US where these patent systems are in place, similarly they would not be threatened in europe.

Anyway I dont think this discussion or poll, or a closedown has any place on this astronomy board. Especially since the draft proposal has collapsed and will not be revisited unbtil later in the year at the earliest.

Cheers,
~Al

To say this would be the end of software such as mysql and php, is simply wrong. These groups, and mysql is now a decent sized company that charges for its software, have managed to start up and thrive in the US where these patent systems are in place, similarly they would not be threatened in europe.

Anyway I dont think this discussion or poll, or a closedown has any place on this astronomy board. Especially since the draft proposal has collapsed and will not be revisited unbtil later in the year at the earliest.

Cheers,
~Al

albert,
i think while the original proposition was defeated, our glourious government as head of the E.U. and the 51st state of america is trying to sneak it in the back door with sponsorship from microsoft before they leave office in june. i think it was on slashdot.org i read this.
stephen.

i think it was on slashdot.org i read this.

Yea but /. makes the `The Sun` seem like the bastion of investigative journalism

They took the ammendments out, but at the next reading in november sometime the governments(or comissioners or MEPS' or whoever!) can vote to have them re-instated I think.

Cheers,
~Al

i think it was on slashdot.org i read this.

Yea but /. makes the `The Sun` seem like the bastion of investigative journalism

They took the ammendments out, but at the next reading in november sometime the governments(or comissioners or MEPS' or whoever!) can vote to have them re-instated I think.

Cheers,
~Al

albert,
check out the links below.
www.abul.org/article191.html
www.elis.ugent.be/~jmaebe/swpat/councilanalysis/paper-en.pdf
i got an email from mandrakesoft saying the same thing.
stephen.