Where I look at Hacktivist Camp.

My thoughts on why do we need to organize Hacktivist camp. This was the thought that went in me , when I was thiinking about what would be the end result of a camp like this.

Ok, So hacktivist camp as I belive , is to take out volunteers to the next level and also plan up as to what is acheivable for the next year as a team. But let us look a little more deep in here. Why do we stay with FSFTN ? Why do we contribute to Free Software (code, tranaslations, evalgalism, anything) ? Do we do it for fame ? Answer these questions, before you read further. Also if possible ask the same question to some more fellow activists. With a lot of them I was surprised with the answers.

Yes, that is where we all start, that is where I started. The mere reason that we are all doing something different that others are not. In one sense that is a fame, that people will look at me as different. But having spent a decent time with Karai and Trichy GLUG's (they are equally new ones), and keeping a track of what they have been doing, there is no fame there.there is no code, there is no translations, only once was there a wikipedia contributions , that they actually worked and a arduino session, and trichy people mostly have been hanging around in mozilla telegram group, just bluffing there. And in the name of meetup's, what do these people do, again talk philosophy. Quite bored, most people end up not coming for the further session. This is a problem with any GLUG other than Chennai and FSHM. For the mere reason that, they are not having enough resources, no enough productive conversations. why because they lack a lot of things. They are not sure where to go, what to do.

Now that I have summarized the whole problem, let me tell what I am expecting out of the Haacktivist Camp. I surely dont want programming sessions, translation sessions. They as I feel is just a mere waste of time. What we need is sessions that makes them realize why they want to stay with the Free Software movement. Not why contribute, just for the reason that, people coming to the hacktivist camp already know why they should contribute. The whole point of the camp is supposed to make them realize their inner-self in where they actually have to contribute, where are they exactly interested. What contributions makes them realize that, they are contributing not for others to say "Awesome job", but rather they motivating themselves saying "Awesome job". Self motivation and self realization in free software is a mandate.

Why I am saying this ? A simple example. Everytime we talk about Prop software, we use Microsoft as a biggest example, and we introduce Free Software, but when I was talking to someone recently, I was able to realize that person was hating microsft like anything, but didnt really understand why free software ? His statement was "Microsoft should shutdown, they should be thrown away". On the overview, yes that is true, but the mere fact that just after coming down just for his 2nd meetup, I feel something is wrong here. When my brother recently asked me "Why is Linux virus free ?" , I told I dont know. Being a senior architect He answered it. And made a statement "You dont know linux, and you go for linux meetups". Well the response from me was "I dont use linux because it is virus free, rather I use it because of various philosophies." Do you see the difference ?

The point is simple, "Using free software is not about opposing prop software, rather it is beacuse it is the need and it has a lot of values." And the only way to do that is when you understand yourself. If it is mere fame of others, open source is the way, rather if it is to motivate yourself, Free Software is the way.

And that is the expectation I have from this hacktivist camp.

Once we make this realization, it will easier for local camp focussed on local communities to organize their own and build themselves. For the simple reason that , they know what to do and why to do.

I dont know if any of this even makes sense, or I just ended up confusing you more, but I have tried my best to put it down the right way as I think.

Well coming to the most important question "How do you think, this could be done ?" . I am clueless. This is where one person's brain cant help, rather a collabrative discussion would.