February 2019 - nexa - server-nexa.polito.it

Re: [nexa] Paris Call - Software Source Code as Heritage

by Giacomo Tesio

Grazie Enrico... e scusate... perdo proprio colpi... :-( Giacomo On 27/02/2019, Enrico Nardelli <nardelli(a)mat.uniroma2.it> wrote: > > Testo integrale qua > https://en.unesco.org/foss/paris-call-software-source-code > > Il 27/02/2019 17:20, Giacomo Tesio ha scritto: >> Call on each UNESCO Member State to >> 13. Recognise software source code as a precious asset of humankind, >> intersecting with human creativity, development, society and culture; >> 14. Recognise software source code as a fundamental enabler in all >> aspects of human endeavour; >> 15. Recognise software source code as a fundamental research document >> on a par with scholarly articles and research data; >> 16. Recognise that the source code of software used for the >> implementation of laws and regulations defines the experience of the >> law by citizens; >> 17. Create an enabling legal, policy and institutional environment >> where software source code can flourish as an integral part of >> knowledge societies; >> 18. Integrate the scientific fundamentals of computing/ informatics >> within general education for all citizens; >> 19. Support the development of shared infrastructures to collect, >> preserve and make available software source code; >> 20. Establish an open and international research infrastructural >> framework for the large scale analysis and improvement of the >> quality, >> safety and security of the software commons; >> 21. Ensure necessary exceptions to copyright and limitations on >> intermediary liability related to software for archival, >> preservation, >> accessibility, education and research purposes; >> 22. Enable effective independent auditing of software source code used >> to make decisions that may affect fundamental rights of human beings >> and where possible ensure it is made available under an open source >> license; >> 23. Implement, with support from UNESCO’s Memory of the World >> Programme, the 2015 Recommendation concerning the Preservation of, >> and >> Access to, Documentary Heritage, including in Digital Form, inviting >> inter-alia Member States to facilitate access to proprietary codes, >> keys and unlocked versions of technology on a non profit basis. >> >> Call on software developers, memory institutions, the business sector, >> academia and civil society, within their competency, to: >> >> 27. Recognise that software is the result of a significant part of the >> intellectual efforts of humankind over recent decades, and it is an >> important part of our cultural and industrial heritage; >> 28. Support efforts to gather and preserve the artifacts and >> narratives of the history of computing, while the earlier creators >> are >> still alive; >> 29. Promote software development as a valuable research activity, and >> research software as a key enabler for Open Science/Open Research, >> sharing good practices and recognising in the careers of academics >> their contributions to high quality software development, in all >> their >> forms; >> 30. Recognize the importance of contributions by people of all genders >> from all over the world to the software commons, supporting a diverse >> and inclusive environment for all aspects of software development and >> curation; >> 31. Educating decision makers on the specificities of software, and >> software source code in particular, raising awareness about the >> threats to the software commons and the importance to protect it; >> 32. Encourage all stakeholders to develop a common system of >> cataloguing to allow for easy identification and retrieval of >> software >> source code, even across the many platforms and infrastructures used >> to develop and/or distribute it; >> 33. Support stakeholders in developing a universal archive, as part of >> a broad effort at digital preservation, that will ensure persistence >> of and universal access to software source code; >> 34. Encourage multidisciplinary activity in the field of software >> preservation, and in particular collaboration with the humanities and >> social sciences whose contributions are essential to study the >> history >> of technology; >> 35. Adapt processes, workflows and licensing schemas in the software >> industry to ease the transition of future proprietary software source >> code into the software commons once it is no longer commercially >> viable; >> 36. Foster international collaboration to build a common framework for >> software preservation and access, and mutualise resources, in order >> to >> avoid the dispersion of efforts; >> 37. Promote the recording of the activity of software developers, >> captured as documentary heritage either in analogue or digital form, >> which are suitable for preservation in their own right and ensure >> that >> they are linked with the source code. >> 38. Support all stakeholders in developing the understanding that >> software source code is intertwined more and more with the fabric of >> our society, hence the utmost care needs to be used during its >> development process to manage its potential consequences on society >> and people >> _______________________________________________ >> nexa mailing list >> nexa(a)server-nexa.polito.it >> https://server-nexa.polito.it/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nexa >> > > -- EN > > ===================================================================== > Prof. Enrico Nardelli > Dipartimento di Matematica - Universita' di Roma "Tor Vergata" > Via della Ricerca Scientifica snc - 00133 Roma > tel: +39 06 7259.4204 fax: +39 06 7259.4699 > mobile: +39 335 590.2331 e-mail: nardelli(a)mat.uniroma2.it > home page: http://www.mat.uniroma2.it/~nardelli > blog: http://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/blog/enardelli/ > http://link-and-think.blogspot.it/ > ===================================================================== > -- > _______________________________________________ > nexa mailing list > nexa(a)server-nexa.polito.it > https://server-nexa.polito.it/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nexa >

Feb. 27, 2019

Re: [nexa] Paris Call - Software Source Code as Heritage

by Enrico Nardelli

Testo integrale qua https://en.unesco.org/foss/paris-call-software-source-code Il 27/02/2019 17:20, Giacomo Tesio ha scritto: > Call on each UNESCO Member State to > 13. Recognise software source code as a precious asset of humankind, > intersecting with human creativity, development, society and culture; > 14. Recognise software source code as a fundamental enabler in all > aspects of human endeavour; > 15. Recognise software source code as a fundamental research document > on a par with scholarly articles and research data; > 16. Recognise that the source code of software used for the > implementation of laws and regulations defines the experience of the > law by citizens; > 17. Create an enabling legal, policy and institutional environment > where software source code can flourish as an integral part of > knowledge societies; > 18. Integrate the scientific fundamentals of computing/ informatics > within general education for all citizens; > 19. Support the development of shared infrastructures to collect, > preserve and make available software source code; > 20. Establish an open and international research infrastructural > framework for the large scale analysis and improvement of the quality, > safety and security of the software commons; > 21. Ensure necessary exceptions to copyright and limitations on > intermediary liability related to software for archival, preservation, > accessibility, education and research purposes; > 22. Enable effective independent auditing of software source code used > to make decisions that may affect fundamental rights of human beings > and where possible ensure it is made available under an open source > license; > 23. Implement, with support from UNESCO’s Memory of the World > Programme, the 2015 Recommendation concerning the Preservation of, and > Access to, Documentary Heritage, including in Digital Form, inviting > inter-alia Member States to facilitate access to proprietary codes, > keys and unlocked versions of technology on a non profit basis. > > Call on software developers, memory institutions, the business sector, > academia and civil society, within their competency, to: > > 27. Recognise that software is the result of a significant part of the > intellectual efforts of humankind over recent decades, and it is an > important part of our cultural and industrial heritage; > 28. Support efforts to gather and preserve the artifacts and > narratives of the history of computing, while the earlier creators are > still alive; > 29. Promote software development as a valuable research activity, and > research software as a key enabler for Open Science/Open Research, > sharing good practices and recognising in the careers of academics > their contributions to high quality software development, in all their > forms; > 30. Recognize the importance of contributions by people of all genders > from all over the world to the software commons, supporting a diverse > and inclusive environment for all aspects of software development and > curation; > 31. Educating decision makers on the specificities of software, and > software source code in particular, raising awareness about the > threats to the software commons and the importance to protect it; > 32. Encourage all stakeholders to develop a common system of > cataloguing to allow for easy identification and retrieval of software > source code, even across the many platforms and infrastructures used > to develop and/or distribute it; > 33. Support stakeholders in developing a universal archive, as part of > a broad effort at digital preservation, that will ensure persistence > of and universal access to software source code; > 34. Encourage multidisciplinary activity in the field of software > preservation, and in particular collaboration with the humanities and > social sciences whose contributions are essential to study the history > of technology; > 35. Adapt processes, workflows and licensing schemas in the software > industry to ease the transition of future proprietary software source > code into the software commons once it is no longer commercially > viable; > 36. Foster international collaboration to build a common framework for > software preservation and access, and mutualise resources, in order to > avoid the dispersion of efforts; > 37. Promote the recording of the activity of software developers, > captured as documentary heritage either in analogue or digital form, > which are suitable for preservation in their own right and ensure that > they are linked with the source code. > 38. Support all stakeholders in developing the understanding that > software source code is intertwined more and more with the fabric of > our society, hence the utmost care needs to be used during its > development process to manage its potential consequences on society > and people > _______________________________________________ > nexa mailing list > nexa(a)server-nexa.polito.it > https://server-nexa.polito.it/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nexa > -- EN ===================================================================== Prof. Enrico Nardelli Dipartimento di Matematica - Universita' di Roma "Tor Vergata" Via della Ricerca Scientifica snc - 00133 Roma tel: +39 06 7259.4204 fax: +39 06 7259.4699 mobile: +39 335 590.2331 e-mail: nardelli(a)mat.uniroma2.it home page: http://www.mat.uniroma2.it/~nardelli blog: http://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/blog/enardelli/ http://link-and-think.blogspot.it/ ===================================================================== --

Feb. 27, 2019

Paris Call - Software Source Code as Heritage

by Giacomo Tesio

Call on each UNESCO Member State to 13. Recognise software source code as a precious asset of humankind, intersecting with human creativity, development, society and culture; 14. Recognise software source code as a fundamental enabler in all aspects of human endeavour; 15. Recognise software source code as a fundamental research document on a par with scholarly articles and research data; 16. Recognise that the source code of software used for the implementation of laws and regulations defines the experience of the law by citizens; 17. Create an enabling legal, policy and institutional environment where software source code can flourish as an integral part of knowledge societies; 18. Integrate the scientific fundamentals of computing/ informatics within general education for all citizens; 19. Support the development of shared infrastructures to collect, preserve and make available software source code; 20. Establish an open and international research infrastructural framework for the large scale analysis and improvement of the quality, safety and security of the software commons; 21. Ensure necessary exceptions to copyright and limitations on intermediary liability related to software for archival, preservation, accessibility, education and research purposes; 22. Enable effective independent auditing of software source code used to make decisions that may affect fundamental rights of human beings and where possible ensure it is made available under an open source license; 23. Implement, with support from UNESCO’s Memory of the World Programme, the 2015 Recommendation concerning the Preservation of, and Access to, Documentary Heritage, including in Digital Form, inviting inter-alia Member States to facilitate access to proprietary codes, keys and unlocked versions of technology on a non profit basis. Call on software developers, memory institutions, the business sector, academia and civil society, within their competency, to: 27. Recognise that software is the result of a significant part of the intellectual efforts of humankind over recent decades, and it is an important part of our cultural and industrial heritage; 28. Support efforts to gather and preserve the artifacts and narratives of the history of computing, while the earlier creators are still alive; 29. Promote software development as a valuable research activity, and research software as a key enabler for Open Science/Open Research, sharing good practices and recognising in the careers of academics their contributions to high quality software development, in all their forms; 30. Recognize the importance of contributions by people of all genders from all over the world to the software commons, supporting a diverse and inclusive environment for all aspects of software development and curation; 31. Educating decision makers on the specificities of software, and software source code in particular, raising awareness about the threats to the software commons and the importance to protect it; 32. Encourage all stakeholders to develop a common system of cataloguing to allow for easy identification and retrieval of software source code, even across the many platforms and infrastructures used to develop and/or distribute it; 33. Support stakeholders in developing a universal archive, as part of a broad effort at digital preservation, that will ensure persistence of and universal access to software source code; 34. Encourage multidisciplinary activity in the field of software preservation, and in particular collaboration with the humanities and social sciences whose contributions are essential to study the history of technology; 35. Adapt processes, workflows and licensing schemas in the software industry to ease the transition of future proprietary software source code into the software commons once it is no longer commercially viable; 36. Foster international collaboration to build a common framework for software preservation and access, and mutualise resources, in order to avoid the dispersion of efforts; 37. Promote the recording of the activity of software developers, captured as documentary heritage either in analogue or digital form, which are suitable for preservation in their own right and ensure that they are linked with the source code. 38. Support all stakeholders in developing the understanding that software source code is intertwined more and more with the fabric of our society, hence the utmost care needs to be used during its development process to manage its potential consequences on society and people

Feb. 27, 2019

Portale Archivi della Scienza

by Rossana Morriello

Segnalo la nascita del portale Archivi della Scienza, curato dal Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia e dallAccademia Nazionale delle Scienze con la collaborazione di diverse altre istituzioni http://www.museoscienza.org/archivi-della-scienza/ Il portale è stato presentato per la prima volta lunedì scorso a Roma e ci sarà una seconda presentazione lunedì 4 marzo a Milano (al link i dettagli). Archivi della Scienza raccoglie e rende disponibili online, con le relative descrizioni, oltre 1500 fondi di istituzioni di ricerca scientifica e carte personali di scienziati, conservati in più di 200 istituti su tutto il territorio italiano ed è aperto alla collaborazione e al contributo della comunità scientifica. Cordialità Rossana Morriello --------------------- Dott.ssa Rossana Morriello Politecnico di Torino Servizio Qualità e Valutazione Corso Duca degli Abruzzi, 24 - 10129 Torino Tel. 011 0906009 <mailto:rossana.morriello@polito.it> rossana.morriello(a)polito.it <mailto:pubblicazioni@polito.it> pubblicazioni(a)polito.it ----------------------

Feb. 27, 2019

Re: [nexa] The Complicated Economy of Open Source Software

by Giacomo Tesio

On 27/02/2019, Giacomo Tesio <giacomo(a)tesio.it> wrote: > no other industry in history had ever produced such a technically > demanding project on that scale by relying solely on the goodwill of > its contributors. Ah su questo, dimenticavo: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1111 Non ne sanno molto di storia... direi. :-D Giacomo

Feb. 27, 2019

The Complicated Economy of Open Source Software

by Giacomo Tesio

It was just before midnight on New Years Eve, 2011, when Stephen Henson broke the internet. The 43-year old British software developer had accepted a small change to the code for OpenSSL, an open source encryption protocol that secures a substantial portion of the web. The fact that it was open source meant that anyone could see its code online and volunteer to help write code for the project. But just because anyone could contribute didn’t mean many people did. [...] Since its inception, one of the biggest selling points of open source development was what the software developer Eric Raymond called “Linus’s Law,” or the idea that with enough people looking at some code “all bugs become shallow.” Thus, after the Heartbleed bug was patched, the biggest questions on everyone’s mind was how such a critical vulnerability could go unnoticed for so long and whether similar bugs lurked in the code for other open source projects. [...] Henson was the only OpenSSL developer working on the project full time—and for a fraction of what he could have made taking his considerable technical skills elsewhere. “These guys don’t work on OpenSSL for money,” Marquess wrote. “They don’t do it for fame. They do it out of pride in craftsmanship and the responsibility for something they believe in...knowing that [they] will be ignored and unappreciated until something goes wrong.” Clearly, something was broken with a system where the security of the global internet was almost entirely supported by the selfless efforts of one overworked and underpaid programmer. As for who was to blame, Marquess pointed to the “commercial companies and governments who use OpenSSL extensively and take it for granted.” [... Mandatory citation of Stallman at MIT...] In the midst of the orgiastic dotcom bubble, when tech companies that barely existed were able to command obscene valuations, Stallman’s ethically-driven free software movement offered a starkly alternative vision of the future. Unlike the digital castles-in-the-air being churned out in the offices of Silicon Valley venture capitalists, free software worked. Stallman and his acolytes had demonstrated that it was possible to make great software that could be modified to meet the individual needs of users by combining ethical conviction and technical chops. For a brief moment in the mid-90s, it seemed like the future of software was free—as in freedom. Then in 1997, a programmer named Eric Raymond published The Cathedral and the Bazaar, an essay that analyzed the process of developing free software. At the core of Raymond’s seminal text is an idea that he has termed “Linus’s Law,” the idea that if enough people are working on a software program, any bugs hidden in the code will be caught and patched quickly. [...] The success [of open source] after Netscape would depend on replacing the negative Free Software Foundation stereotypes with positive stereotypes of our own [...] There was just one problem: The free software movement was burdened with a major ethical component, and ethics are bad for business. [... e dopo aver speso un terzo dell'articolo a spiegare che Etica e Free Software fanno male ...] Although open source software was rapidly embraced by many of the biggest tech companies in Silicon Valley, economists struggled to explain how these projects, which bucked all the conventions of the marketplace, could be so successful. By that point, the standard explanation peddled by the free software crowd—that free software development could be sustained on the basis of the ethical imperatives of freedom and altruism—no longer seemed adequate to account for the rapid emergence and adoption of a project like Linux. To that point, no other industry in history had ever produced such a technically demanding project on that scale by relying solely on the goodwill of its contributors. Continua con analoghe buffe acrobazie logiche su https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/43zak3/the-internet-was-built-on… Non sfiora lontanamente il pensiero degli autori che l'Open Source sia insostenibile proprio perché strumento di marketing (e quindi secondario agli interessi di chi lo produce) e che il Free Software funzioni COME funziona perché completamente indifferente agli aspetti commerciali e alla market share. Non li sfiora, perché la soluzione altrimenti sarebbe semplice: TASSE. Tasse sull'uso, sulla modifica e sulla distribuzione del software "bene comune". Tasse con cui finanziare il software libero. Giacomo

Feb. 27, 2019

Re: [nexa] "Technologies of Domination and Hacker Pedagogy" - Thursday, 28th February 6:30pm, Guarini Campus

by donna d.r.

Ciao Giacomo grazie per l interesse Purtroppo niente live streaming mi dispiace: ( On Wednesday, February 27, 2019, Giacomo Tesio <giacomo(a)tesio.it> wrote: > Ciao Donatella, sembra davvero molto interessante. > > Posso chiederti se pensate di condividere una registrazione dell'evento? > (magari non su YT? ;-)) > > > Hacker pedagogy is an active attitude to change the behaviours promoting > > automatisms - thus restricting freedom of choice. > > It is focused on the effects, assumptions and practices of technical > interactions. > > “Hacker pedagogy” trainings and workshops formulate a coherent set of > tactics > > for becoming aware of our personal/collective mind/bodies. > > Se ho capito bene cercate di far capire come gli automatismi limitino > la libertà di scelta? > Mi sembra un'ottima idea! > > Tuttavia la mia prima obbiezione, come hacker, è che dipende da chi quegli > automatismi li ha creati. Se li scrivo io, ad esempio, non limitano > la mia libertà, perché se provano a contraddirmi... prima li debuggo e > poi li riscrivo senza alcuna pietà! :-D > > > The underlying methodology and theoretical reflection mixes the approach > of > > experiential pedagogy (Boud – Cohen – Walker, 1993), the hacker attitude > and > > a strong libertarian imprint. Left libertarian. > > Molto interessante. > > Qualche tempo fa discutevo di come i computer siano specchi per le nostre > menti. > L'unico modo di usarli davvero è programmare. ;-) > > > Giacomo > --

Feb. 27, 2019

Cyber-Mercenary Groups Shouldn't be Trusted in Your Browser or Anywhere Else

by Giacomo Tesio

DarkMatter, the notorious cyber-mercenary firm based in the United Arab Emirates, is seeking to become approved as a top-level certificate authority in Mozilla’s root certificate program. Giving such a trusted position to this company would be a very bad idea. DarkMatter has a business interest in subverting encryption, and would be able to potentially decrypt any HTTPS traffic they intercepted. One of the things HTTPS is good at is protecting your private communications from snooping governments—and when governments want to snoop, they regularly hire DarkMatter to do their dirty work. [...] Browsers rely on this list of authorities, which are trusted to verify and issue the certificates that allow for secure browsing, using technologies like TLS and HTTPS. Certificate Authorities are the basis of HTTPS, but they are also its greatest weakness. Any of the dozens of certificate authorities trusted by your browser could secretly issue a fraudulent certificate for any website (such as google.com or eff.org.) A certificate authority (or other organization, such as a government spy agency,) could then use the fraudulent certificate to spy on your communications with that site, even if it is encrypted with HTTPS. [...] The companies on your browser’s trusted CA list rarely commit such fraud, since not issuing malicious certificates is the foremost responsibility for a certificate authority. But it can and does still happen. The concern in this case is that DarkMatter has made its business spying on internet communications, hacking dissidents’ iPhones, and other cyber-mercenary work. DarkMatter’s business objectives directly depend on intercepting end-user traffic on behalf of snooping governments. Giving DarkMatter a trusted root certificate would be like letting the proverbial fox guard the henhouse. [...] Other organizations have used this fact to game the system in the past and worm their way into our browsers. In 2009, Mozilla allowed CNNIC, the Chinese state certification authority, into the root CA program, after CNNIC assured Mozilla and the larger community that it would not abuse this power to create fake certificates and break encryption. In 2015 CNNIC was caught in a scandal when an intermediate CA authorized by CNNIC issued illegitimate certificates for several google-owned domains. Google, Mozilla, and others quickly revoked CNNIC’s authority in their browsers and operating systems after learning about the breach of trust. CNNIC is not the only example of this. In 2013 Mozilla considered dropping the Swedish company Teliasonera after accusations that it had helped enable government spying. Teliasonera ultimately did not get dropped, but it continues to have security problems to this day. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/02/cyber-mercenary-groups-shouldnt-be-tr… ____ Insomma, agli USA non piace la concorrenza! :-D Ma... usate HTTPS! HTTPS everywhere! HTTPS è sicuro! Let's Encrypt! :-D Giacomo PS: chi non sa quando NON usare uno strumento, non ha le competenze per usarlo.

Feb. 27, 2019

Re: [nexa] "Technologies of Domination and Hacker Pedagogy" - Thursday, 28th February 6:30pm, Guarini Campus

by Giacomo Tesio

Ciao Donatella, sembra davvero molto interessante. Posso chiederti se pensate di condividere una registrazione dell'evento? (magari non su YT? ;-)) > Hacker pedagogy is an active attitude to change the behaviours promoting > automatisms - thus restricting freedom of choice. > It is focused on the effects, assumptions and practices of technical interactions. > “Hacker pedagogy” trainings and workshops formulate a coherent set of tactics > for becoming aware of our personal/collective mind/bodies. Se ho capito bene cercate di far capire come gli automatismi limitino la libertà di scelta? Mi sembra un'ottima idea! Tuttavia la mia prima obbiezione, come hacker, è che dipende da chi quegli automatismi li ha creati. Se li scrivo io, ad esempio, non limitano la mia libertà, perché se provano a contraddirmi... prima li debuggo e poi li riscrivo senza alcuna pietà! :-D > The underlying methodology and theoretical reflection mixes the approach of > experiential pedagogy (Boud – Cohen – Walker, 1993), the hacker attitude and > a strong libertarian imprint. Left libertarian. Molto interessante. Qualche tempo fa discutevo di come i computer siano specchi per le nostre menti. L'unico modo di usarli davvero è programmare. ;-) Giacomo

Feb. 27, 2019

"Technologies of Domination and Hacker Pedagogy" - Thursday, 28th February 6:30pm, Guarini Campus

by donna d.r.

Ciao a tutt* domani alla John Cabot University ospitiamo un talk che potrebbe essere di interesse, qui sotto le info, grazie! Donatella You are cordially invited to “*Technologies of Domination and Hacker Pedagogy”*, *C.I.R.C.E. Research Group* on *Thursday*, *28th February 2019, at 6:30pm* in the *Aula Magna, Guarini Campus*. Kindly RSVP at: https://bit.ly/2DPhetS <https://bit.ly/2DPhetS> C.I.R.C.E. Research Group "Technologies of Domination and Hacker Pedagogy" <https://bit.ly/2DPhetS> bit.ly C.I.R.C.E. Research Group <https://bit.ly/2DPhetS> *Address*: Aula Magna Regina, Guarini Campus, John Cabot University, Via della Lungara 233, 00165 Rome

Feb. 27, 2019