[pp.int.general] UK action idea: in schools

[Erik Lönroth]

On Mon, Oct 25, 2010 at 2:09 PM, Richard Stallman <rms at gnu.org> wrote:
>    I can tell you as a former GCSE student myself (like everyone in their
>    20s in the UK) that there was little to no mention of filesharing, P2P
>    or copyright at all other than a very brief "don't infringe copyright
>    on school computers" lumped in with all the usual rules.
>
> I have more info now, and it confirms what you said about the GCSE IT.
> The propaganda is limited to samlearning.com and maybe another similar
> commercial site.
>
> However, I'm told that many schools tell students to study using
> samlearning.com.  So the school system does have a problem even though
> it isn't in the GCSE IT as such.
>
>                                                             Is there any
>    way we can see the samlearning screenshots?
>
> I can forward that message to whoever wants it.  Do you want it?
>
>    > But even if it is only 10%, that is still a lot of students. Â And
>    > their competitors may be similar. Â Their message is likely to have an
>    > influence unless the students see arguments that sharing is good.
>    > They may keep sharing, but they will tell themselves "I am a bad
>    > person because I share."
>
>    Considering how many of these students likely have iPods full of
>    downloaded MP3s in their pocket I doubt that.
>
> Lots of people keep doing things that they believe are wrong.  (In
> many cases we might agree that those things are wrong.)  So the fact
> that they have iScrods, or some other music player, with unauthorized
> copies doesn't imply they are immune to the propaganda that sharing is
> wrong.  In other words, the propaganda there can have an effect.
>
> Besides, we would like kids to stand up and say, "Sharing is good,
> honi soit qui mal y pense."

So, what would a campaign need to contain, to achieve that ?

Topics, pedagogics, examples, key-note speakers (such as yourself
ofc), online material, seminar contents, tools etc. etc. etc.

Is that something PPI could muster or is PPI just a place for good thoughts?

If I would host a lecture on the topic "Copying is good", getting
people and media there is a matter of who shows up as speaker,
location etc. Would you do that RMS?

Could this be something that could be arranged on an international
scale and make sure it gets a "push-through". This is not easy.

Its needed tho. I agree that the general opinion is that "a copy is a
theft if not paid for". That needs to change.

/Erik

>
>    Petitioning the LEA (Local
>    Education Authority) alongside other concerned parties (parents in
>    particular) is likely to lead to better longterm change. Making the
>    point that schools should not be in the business of dispensing
>    political opinions as fact - and copyright infringement being "wrong"
>    is very much political.
>
> You know better than I do what avenues might work in the UK.
> I am just hoping to get people interested in launching a campaign.
>
>                            It is wise also not to give the impression of
>    being against teaching the legal facts:
>
> The propaganda is more about the morality than legality.  If it
> mentions laws at all, it pretends they determine write and wrong.
>
>    > Education about copyright is not the response that's needed. Â This is
>    > a moral point, not a legal one, so the response has to be on the moral
>    > plane too.
>    With no disrespect, I have to disagree with you there. Schools
>    definitely should give accurate and correct information on copyright
>    law - that is part of their proper role.
>
> I don't disagree, but that's not the issue here.  The propaganda is
> about morality, not law.
>
> --
> Richard Stallman
> President, Free Software Foundation
> 51 Franklin St
> Boston MA 02110
> USA
> www.fsf.org, www.gnu.org
> ____________________________________________________
> Pirate Parties International - General Talk
> pp.international.general at lists.pirateweb.net
> http://lists.pirateweb.net/mailman/listinfo/pp.international.general
>