RE: https://mastodon.thi.ng/@toxi/117593974534138087
The wider pattern to watch out for and avoid is the transformation of means into ends, in yourself or in others, including institutions.
It often happens via technology, e.g. the famous "first we shape our tools, and then our tools shape us".
But it also happens via objectives that are set with good intentions, but then become counterproductive due to changes in the world. Goodhart's law is a well-known example.
The discussion about the state of Free Software happening in my timeline is a perfect example.
Back in the 1970s and 1980s, when the few people who had access to professional computers also had programming experience, the Four Freedoms were an effective means to defend these people against the constraints of proprietary software. Today, those Four Freedoms are no longer sufficient, but they are pursued as an end in itself by the FSF and by many individuals.
Take Eli Zaretskii's comment on slave labor. I don't know Eli, I have never communicated with him. I have no idea of what his overall ethical values are. But I don't see "Eli Zaretskii doesn't oppose slave labor" as the only interpretation of his comment. The other one is "our scriptures say that there are Four Freedoms, and as long as they are respected, our tribal courts have nothing to criticize". That's not a point of view that I approve, but it's not supporting slavery either.
I'd say the key is getting fact and logic correct first.
It is factually false and logically empty to say "doesn't oppose" is equivalent to "supports"
All too often folks rush right past factual accuracy with barely a glance before heading headlong down a path based on myth.
