RMS speaks at YPU; results "titanic"

Tuesday, cigarette #1
Some wi-fi hotspot in back of the library

While on the topic of all things open source, here are highlights from the Yale Political Union's debate with Richard Stallman. The resolution in question was about digital restrictions management (the thing that makes it possible for Apple to restrict what you can do with songs you buy from iTunes) and not open source software, but most of the student speakers managed not to embarrass themselves by confusing their DRM's and DMCA's. Stand warned that the following is in parliamentary minute-speak:

The Chairman of the Party of the Right, Mr. Jack O’Connor, points out that DRM gets its clout from copyright, and asks whether Mr. Stallman should not be angry at copyright rather than DRM.

Mr. Stallman does not call for the total abolition of copyright; he thinks there is a value to some sorts of intellectual property law. However, he thinks that non-commercial redistribution of unmodified copies of personal speech, etc., should be permitted. [...]

The Floorleader of the Right, Mr. George Singer, proposes a hypothetical situation: what if he sold Mr. Stallman a house and insisted that Mr. Stallman not change the color of a particular room?

Mr. Stallman says that this situation would not do much harm; it is merely a quirk. However, if Mr. Singer insisted that he not allow black people to live in the house, it would be unacceptable.

This has very little to do with DRM but a lot to do with why I joined the YPU:

Mr. O’Connor asks how something which is, essentially, restricting the character set in which a book can be written can possibly into a coherent narrative of government.

[Ms. Samadzadeh-Hadidi:] “Could you just say that in, like, a sentence?”

“What does the lady believe about government?”

Ms. Samadzadeh-Hadidi will play her favorite song about it after the debate.