There’s been a lot of talk on the UK-Riders mailing list about the tendency for discussions to be subverted into an argument for the use of free and open source software (FOSS). The voluntary and charitable sectors are a difficult audience. As Free Software proponents, we feel that our software is a superior choice, but we can quickly forget that the people we work with have a much more pragmatic view of the world; they have problems that need solving. Here are some tips for advocating Free Software to charities and volunteers.

Know your audience: people working for charities aren’t always computer experts and are likely to have been volunteered into being the organization’s accidental techie. They might not have had any choice over what software tools they use for practical, political and financial reasons; don’t criticize them for it. Most people are going to have a pragmatic approach to IT; they have problems and need them solved now. It’d be nice if everyone could share your view of ethics but the practical benefits are more important now.

Use positive, vigorous arguments. FOSS has far more to offer than simply being a better alternative to Microsoft. Great sales messages don’t focus on how better your widget is than all previous widgets (many technically superior products have failed) but by concentrating on what instant benefits using your widget will bring. There’s no need to refer to Microsoft as M$ or otherwise insult them; it’s unprofessional.

Be consistent, but more importantly be realistic and correct. Here are some common mistakes.

• FOSS is not without costs. Even GPL licensing can cost.
• Commercial software and FOSS are not mutually exclusive. The most important projects are worked on by multinational companies.
• No software is without problems. FOSS has bugs and usability problems too.
• Open standards are not exclusive to FOSS. Proprietary software often makes good use of open standards to exchange data with other applications.

It’s easy to think that the world is against FOSS; especially when the facts seem to fit that view. Some people are hard to win over, some you can’t. Accusations of conspiracy will not help your case and make you look unprofessional. Expect people to have different opinions and viewpoints to yourself.

Don’t get personal: ignore others when they do. Be prepared to apologize if you accidentally offend someone. Knowing when not to advocate and when to back down is more productive than trying to grab even the smallest opportunity.

I’d love to hear, by e-mail or in the comments, if there’s anything you think that could be added or removed from this short list. It’s a tricky subject.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 29th, 2007 at 2:12 pm and is filed under Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.