রিং Ring
I am Shazedur Rahim Joardar (Ring) from Dhaka, Bangladesh. As an IT professional my 22+ year of journey was packed with various GNU/Linux deployments, maintenance and end-user support. Loves resolving daily 15+ on-site and remote support to Debian/Ubuntu/OracleLinux/Alma/Rocky/FreeBSD/OpenBSD and many more. I am a GNU/Linux user, lover, translator and supporter since 2000, and a sysadmin since 2003 using Red Hat 5.0, later Fedora and RHEL. I am using Ubuntu in personal computers since December 2006. Canonical had sent a zero-priced gift pack of 10 CDs with Ubuntu 6.10 back then. I have started deployment of Ubuntu servers with Ubuntu 8.04 in 2009. Since 2009, I personally made over 6,300 new desktop or laptop installations with Ubuntu and LinuxMint.
In 2011, me along with 21 more Free software enthusiasts formed an organization titled “FOSS Bangladesh (Foundation for Open Source Solutions Bangladesh)” and started official tour to the Universities here in Bangladesh. Up to December 2024, FOSS Bangladesh had organized 83 events in various universities and colleges and schools to spread out the digital freedom knowledge among the pupils, the future leaders. In my invitation Mr. Richard M. Stallman Sir had visited Dhaka, Bangladesh at Daffodil International University for a session in 2014. I am also a Mozillian (Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird Fan, User and Supporter and end user support volunteer). My email and telegram (https://t.me/toshazed) id are very public and open to all Digital Freedom enthusiasts, lovers, users and interested ones. I can communicate in Bengali, English, Hindi, Urdu
Sessions
With free software, the users control the program, both individually and collectively. So they control what their computers do (assuming those computers are loyal and do what the users' programs tell them to do).
With proprietary software, the program controls the users, and some other entity (the developer or “owner”) controls the program. So the proprietary program gives its developer power over its users. That is unjust in itself; moreover, it tempts the developer to mistreat the users in other ways.
Even when proprietary software isn't downright malicious, its developers have an incentive to make it addictive, controlling and manipulative. You can say, as does the author of that article, that the developers have an ethical obligation not to do that, but generally they follow their interests. If you want this not to happen, make sure the program is controlled by its users.
Freedom means having control over your own life. If you use a program to carry out activities in your life, your freedom depends on your having control over the program. You deserve to have control over the programs you use, and all the more so when you use them for something important in your life.