In my way to work I have been thinking in something that happened the other day, I was showing/explaining to a coworker some mobile applications made with web technologies and discussing about Android/MeeGo/iPhone development. After a few minutes of good conversation the next chat happened:
coworker: Maybe we can even create a Windows Phone application
me: I’m not going to install nor use Windows and even less I’m going to write an application for Windows Phone.
coworker: C’mon you should not be that radical
me: Excuses for being a radical
So, after thinking about this chat with a cold mind, I started to wonder the little respect that people have for others with different values, for example I know people that thinks that being a Vegetarian is stupid and foolish, or that everybody who have a religion is dumb. This issue is no different.
I can’t do anything for those with closed minds, for those who currently don’t respect anything beyond their values and beliefs but I can tell something to everybody else:
If you won’t force a vegetarian to eat meat, if you won’t force a Muslim to eat pork, if you won’t force others to do what you do, please don’t force me to use private software.
I (L) Freedom
I (L) My Computer Freedom.
Be happy.
BTW, it’s Jews who don’t eat pork. But congrats for standing up for your beliefs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_dietary_laws
Muslims don’t eat pork according to wikipedia and many muslim friends of mine:p
\o/ cheers for freedom!
PS: Although iPhone is no better than Windows Phone regarding freedom ^^
+9999999999.
I’ve heard so many times the “you refuse to use windows/propietary stuff, you’re so radical” thing… but people are so self-involved.
So you don’t want to develop for Windows Mobile but you develop for iPhone.
You don’t develop for the philantropist who wanted (and achieved) the goal of having one computer per home, but you develop for the dickhead who ridiculously overprices his products, which are manufactured in very poor countries, with child labour.
Yes, that makes sense.
I never said that I’m developing for iphone, and even if I do this blog post is not about that, is about people respecting others choices and values.
I’ve edited the post so people don’t get confused, iPhone was just an example.
@afiestas: I fully agree with you on this. However, the largest obstacle I’ve found is with people – especially those less technically-inclined – who don’t see software as a matter of freedom. Sometimes it’s more of a complacency problem (e.g. they don’t see DRM as a problem until /they/ get burned, no matter what you tell them), but I know people who think that “Freedom” has nothing to do with technology. What’s worse is that to those sorts of people, much of the rationale behind why Software Freedom is important sounds like overzealousness or paranoia.
Your worry about respect is a good one and I think it would help a lot to know the reasons for the response of your colleague so you can look at his reaction in a new light and maybe conclude he does not mean disrespect at all, even though it looks like it.
Most people don’t have time to do the research for these things and thus will go with what is the consensus among a lot of friends. There is a risk to this approach of not doing the research and that is that there is always the lingering fear of being wrong.
You coming to those people saying you don’t agree breaks their ideal and thus they will push back to defend their vision of the world.
So he probably doesn’t want to disrespect you or your thinking and probably feels that your response of plain refusal to use MS tools contains a hint of aggression to his beliefs.
A way to get this kind of confrontation to a better conclusion is a more soft approach with more safeguards to the person you are talking to to make clear you are not attacking him at all.
Something like;
you: “Coworker, I understand the appeal to that idea and at the same time I’m wondering if depending on a platform from Microsoft is a good idea. We certainly can, and I fully support you researching this idea. I’m personally thinking that Microsoft has been clear in creating a pattern of behavior that upgrades are subtly incompatible and it requires everyone to use the new versions of Windows. While I’m not even using any version of Windows and that disqualifies me from developing for their platforms altogether”.
Do you see what I did here? You first of all state a non-technical reason why you would not choose an MS platform while stating that this is not an opinion you want to press upon him. You then point to a pattern of Microsoft. He will likely ask for an example and you should answer him one (MSOffice docs being a good one) but he still has the pattern itself to explain even if he rejects all examples you can come up with.
Last; you give a reason that it requires a very significant investment from your side (and the company) to attempt this and thus shifting the responsibility of rejecting this to his shoulders.
This approach will bring you closer to a common ground and the eyes of your coworker to your points will be more open then when he perceived you as a radical. Given opportunity this coworker might even come to agree with you about alternative mobile platforms for your app.
Have a nice day!
You can respect someone ideas even if you don’t understand the nature of them, even more if you don’t understand the ideas at all you shall respect them by default since you don’t have an opinion.
The conversation I had with my coworker wasn’t about developing and actual application, and it was not about the usage or not of proprietary software, we were just talking about random things. What “shocked me” is that he knowing that I don’t use proprietary (or I try to don’t use it) software because of my ideas he replied me “you should not be that radical”, I felt like if he was saying to me “Because software is not important, you should care less”. In my most humble opinion I should not need to explain to anybody why I do something or why I don’t always that I respect everybody wellness and freedom.
And well, this of course apply to my personal life, if I have to write an iPhone app because of my work, or for the good of my company I will do without think it twice (though If I have to do it in a regular basis I will find another job :p).
This is an interesting post for me as both a long-time Linux user and vegetarian, two values that are important to me and that I’ve often equated due to the ferocity of needless attacks I have to endure because of them on a regular basis.
With regard to both, I started out a little more vocal about my beliefs and was perhaps occasionally preachy, then realised this didn’t solicit the most favourable responses from people who become defensive, so I’ve become passive to the point of only expressing my opinions when asked or it is absolutely necessary. However, many times in more recent years I’ve noted that even with this approach, the moment my beliefs are exposed I am subjected to aggressive ridicule, mockery or belittlement.
It appears to be some sort of herd mentality which causes the majority of people to feel it necessary to belong to the majority group, so that rather than have to be courageous and stand up for their own principles, they can instead lazily fall back on ‘popular opinion’ and assume that to give them the upper hand.
I’m sure most of those who take a philosophically principled stance on Linux and open source will have run into exactly the same sort of situations at some time or other that you are describing.
Agreed 100%
Tough is healthy to say and remark that not everybody is like that (luckily for us).
Well, “vegetarianism” is not a religion
There are scientific facts which proves it’s healtier (without discussing the technicalities here)
But there is no scientific evidence which proves God exists and doesn’t want you to eat pork.
While I do consider stupid believing in something which is not demonstrated (and – worst of all! – which makes SOME people more powerful and richer) I do respect others’ ideas.
If you believe God exists, I’m fine.
If you believe God does care what you eat, I’m fine.
If you believe Santa is real, I’m fine.
If you believe the Bible was written by God-chosen people and that the Church wants to help poor people, I’m fine.
I’m fine until you force me to believe this stupid shit.
In the end, I totally agree with you.
And I respect your desire not to work with windows based software.
But personally, I wouldn’t care that much about software platforms.
“Force” is not a good verb no matter where you put it…
That’s exactly of what I’m talking about, even if you don’t care that much about software, you respect me that I do.
Your decision to not use windows should be respected.
But you should also respect other people’s decision to not cooperate with you if you restrict yourself to Linux/BSD operating systems.
As a Linux supporter myself, I believe the optimal way is to cooperate with as many people as possible, even if it means using Windows for certain tasks. Cooperation gives you influence and you can introduce Linux for other people who are not aware of its advantages.
In a few days I’m going to use Windows (at work) to ensure the compatibility of a website with IE, and I’m totally ok with it! even more, in the future I may get an Apple computer so I can learn and expand my vision, but even if I do it (which at present I don’t know), it won’ t change the fact that no one is nobody to judge what is important and what’s not for me.
uhm… I admit I thought that being Vegetarian is a bit… stupid.
@Andrea Diamantini
I don’t see why
Would you mind elaborating what you think?
I’m actually in the process of trying to switch to a vegetarian diet.
There are studies which prove vegetarians live longer and healtier.
Several fitness experts recommend it too.
Of course, whichever is your diet, you should always find a way to get all the nutrients your body needs.
With several vegetarian diets this is quite easy, with more strict diets it’s harder (or not possible without supplements – eg: http://tonyhorton.blogspot.com/2008/08/thinking-100-vegan-think-again.html)
By the way, the web is full of witnesses and evidences!
http://www.highvibrations.org/archive3/veg.htm
http://cleanse.net/scientificfactsaboutmeat.aspx
I was skeptical too about not eating meat but after having read text, studies and witnesses I am totally going to try it and decide for myself.
@Framp
Meat is important, without it we wouldn’t have the current brain size we have.