Editing 743: Infrastructures

{{comic
| number    = 743
| date      = May 21, 2010
| title     = Infrastructures
| image     = infrastructures.png
| titletext = The heartfelt tune it plays is CC licensed, and you can get it from my seed on JoinDiaspora.net whenever that project gets going.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] has sent an essay to his friend, likely [[Richard Stallman]], an advocate of free and open-source software. While the essay itself was good, Stallman worries because the essay was in the {{w|Doc (computing)|.doc}} format, the {{w|Proprietary Software|proprietary format}} that old versions of {{w|Microsoft Word}} used. He advises Cueball to use a format based on an open standard, possibly ODF, ODT, ODS, ODP, or {{w|OpenDocument|other types}} derived from something such as {{w|OpenOffice.org XML}}.

Cueball, who does not appreciate Stallman criticizing the file format over the actual contents of the file, accuses him of pedantically stirring up trouble instead of simply caring that the software works (which is what most regular users would be concerned about). Given that it can be a challenge to move from a familiar proprietary application to an open-source rival which may lack compatibility, features, support, and popularity, Cueball's stance is not entirely unjustified.

Stallman tries to explain that he is just concerned about the current proprietary software infrastructure that forces users to use software in a specific way, penalizing them for sharing the software or even preventing looking at the source code in order to learn what the program actually does or how it works. Cueball, however, isn't buying it, and accuses him of having [https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/no-word-attachments.html an arrogance that crowds out his perspective], while also claiming that he is {{w|Autism|autistic}}, an ableist epithet often aimed, particularly by denizens of online forums and imageboards, at people who have an intense fixation on seemingly trivial things.

Seven years later, Cueball runs to Stallman, having become alarmed at Facebook's immense control and dubious policies about the personal information it collects. Since this is exactly the kind of situation Stallman was warning against, he sarcastically retorts by producing "the world's tiniest open-source violin". This is a twist on "{{tvtropes|WorldsSmallestViolin|playing the world's smallest violin}}", a gesture used to convey sarcastic pity at someone else's misfortune. Interestingly, he does actually appear to possess the physical instrument itself, which is uncommon. This implies that he has been carrying around the violin for this eventuality (not unlike what [[Black Hat]] does in [[757: Toot]]), or perhaps he uses this sarcastic expression often enough to warrant it. Since the violin is so tiny, it is rendered only by a few pixels forming a line bottomed with an ovoid shape resembling the vague shape of a violin. The problem with the lack of open source and Facebook is also the subject of [[1390: Research Ethics]].

The title text references the following pieces of infrastructure that are compatible with the "free software" ideology:
* [https://www.creativecommons.org Creative Commons licenses] (CC licensed) use existing copyright law to permit someone to share a creative work anywhere so long as the sharer attributes credit to the creator of the work. The particular CC license chosen may also allow for modification, derivative works, and/or commercial usage. The fellow's phrase "you can get it" in the title text is ambiguous: is he offering to share the code for the violin, or the tune that the violin plays? But since CC licenses are not used for software, we can assume "it" refers to the tune: either an audio recording of it, or perhaps source material from which to make modified versions.
* [https://diasporafoundation.org diasporafoundation.org] (formerly joindiaspora.net, and then joindiaspora.com) is the central host of {{w|Diaspora (social network)| Diaspora*}}, an open-source alternative to Facebook which puts the user in control of how their information is used. Of course, this sort of use of Diaspora would eliminate Cueball's concern over how Facebook handled his information. A few months after this comic released, a consumer alpha version of Diaspora* was released, and, after more than a decade, an official version would be released.
* a Diaspora "seed" is a personal web server that interacts in a Diaspora "pod" of servers. It stores all of your information (such as the tune in this case) and shares it with your friends, in a way that respects your preferences around privacy, etc.

==Transcript==
:2003:
:[Cueball approaches a bearded fellow.]
:Cueball: Did you get my essay?
:Bearded Fellow: Yeah, it was good! But it was a .doc; You should really use a more open--
:Cueball: Give it a ''rest'' already. Maybe we just want to live our lives and use software that ''works'', not get wrapped up in your stupid nerd turf wars.

:Bearded Fellow: I just want people to care about the infrastructures we're building and who--
:Cueball: No, you just want to feel smugly superior. You have no sense of perspective and are probably autistic.

:2010:
:Cueball: Oh my God! We handed control of our social world to Facebook and they're ''DOING EVIL STUFF!''

:Bearded Fellow: Do you see this?

:[Inset, the bearded fellow rubs his index and middle fingers against his thumb.]
:Bearded Fellow: ''It's the world's tiniest open-source violin.''

==Trivia==
In response to this comic, a [https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3193 3D model for a tiny violin] was released as open-source files.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Richard Stallman]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Social networking]]