[wordup] By it's own virtues it must prevail ...

[Adam Shand]

This is a great little piece.  Lets not forget as we get wrapped up in
the excitement of success.

From: http://www.advogato.org/article/533.html

The letter from Peru is a call for help.
Posted 15 Aug 2002 by Alleluia (Journeyer)

Several have been asking about the current status of the 'letter from
Peru.' Here is an answer, structured within the language of advocacy.
Several links are at the end of the article.

The letter from Peru has a context. It eloquently brought worldwide
attention to a cause that has been quietly underway for several years,
which is to bring free software into use by the governments of
developing nations, for the twofold effect of 1. reducing cost and 2.
maintaining an independence from the whims of proprietary software
developers, including security concerns. As detailed below, the news
from Peru has encouraged legislators in other similar governments to
begin moving forward with similar proposals. Others which were already
underway have received strength from the clarity of that letter.

As the largest software developer to be affected by this strengthening,
Microsoft immediately responded with an array of threats and short-term
promises to Peru if it will _not_ enact such legislation. This tension
brings notoriety to all sorts of related issues which spiral outward
from the core debate of open source versus closed source, such as
security, copyright, and the stability or credibility of various
development platforms. As a result, many landmark concerns with effects
ranging well into the future are being studied for the first time by
people whose role is to create laws, all over the world. If ever there
was a critical 'moment' in the advancement of free software as a cause,
it began in the spring of 2002 and will continue briefly for the next
few years as these issues reach legislative form which is international
in scope, although local in fact.

"Among other countries, the closest are Brazil and Argentina; for
Europe, we know about the law passed by the German parliament, as well
as the proposal in France and the study presented to the English
parliament. In Asia, above all there are the actions of the Chinese
Government," said Dr. Villanueva in an interview with Linux Journal.

Within the open source community, here is the central issue of which to
be aware:

Now that free software has reach a critical mass that brings it to the
attention of legislators as a legally-mandated option, there is no
turning back. Hour by hour now, a vacuum is being created in legislative
bodies worldwide, which will be filled one way or another with a body of
law that regulates software 'choice' in ways not seen before. If open
source advocates do not move with clarity at this point in time,
legislation influenced by proprietary software will be implemented in
ways which make it more difficult to choose free software options in the
future.

Thus, now is a perfect time to soberly consider the technical merits,
overall marketing strategy, and long-term future of Free Software, by
everyone who can work on these issues. In this light, here follows an
up-to-date list of annotated links which will set a solid starting point
(there are many more links to be gathered) for others who can begin
implementing similar legislatively-oriented projects in their local
government, local Linux User Groups, and other forums. It is entirely
possible for this sort of legislation to be enacted in your local
government, no matter where on Earth you may be. Villanueva is
encouraged by local youth who have said they are willing to march for
this cause.

  "It is the youth that needs to drive its creativity, its intelligence,
  its intellect ... there are many young people that can create their
  own employment through [the use] of free software," said Villanueva in
  an interview with Linux Today.

We must be careful to let free software develop in an organic manner,
that is, slowly an of its own momentum, never forcing it by
overmarketing it. By resting firmly on its technical merits, free
software development will remain free; if we entangle it with marketing.
It is upon this solid ground that we must stand, as we approach
legislators, never letting our advocacy leap ahead of our ability. In
this manner, free software will always have a reputation for honesty.

The following links get right to the heart of the issue.

Via Libre: This site, in conjunction with GRULIC, is a perfect example
in history for a dedicated grassroots effort which is having a solid
impact; these people helped Dr. Villanueva compose the original proposal
(link translated to English by Google.com). On the site is a 'law'
template which can be copied and localized throughout the world.

Pimiento Linux links : links regarding the Peruvian letter as they
appear in world news.

GRULIC list : a Linux User Group in Argentina which has compiled a solid
list of laws currently under consideration around the world.

GRULIC's Bigger List : GRULIC has gone into great detail.

Advogato article : in a comment to a story, a user expanded on some of
these themes, with links to barrapunto and others.

Barrapunto article : The "Spanish-language Slashdot" has this article,
which is a July update on events, with comments (link translated to
English by Google.com).

PLUG: Peruvian Linux User Group which has taken this cause on in several
ways (link translated to English by Google.com).

Loads of Linux Links: The advocacy page from Loads of Linux Links.

Thanks to Google for their freely-available ads-free translation
software.