Older blog entries for GJF (starting at number 1)

I was taken aback, I hadn't realised that I couldn't post a reply to cmacd re:

IS open source enough to help the third world

My reply:

It can only be a help.

I have been involved for several years in commercial development of software supporting minority languages. - open source helps - how do you get software in a language with only a few thousand speakers? You translate it yourself!

As for the argument that poor people can't afford computers - don't get stuck in that trap. I fear it is an excuse for not doing anything. Third world countries will acquire computers, they will also contribute enormously to the diversity of available software, and they will need whatever help/resources they can lay their hands on. Open source can help because you don't need GHz processors to do useful work.

I would also suggest that poor people can't afford not to have computers. There is the possibility for 3rd world programmers (or web designers or technical writers) to earn $US working over the internet. $1US is currently about $2.50NZ so US based work is attractive here even though New Zealand is not 3rd world (yet).

Hi all, I'm still looking around the site, I must say I think mod_virgule is pretty cool. I'm wondering if there is some simple way to add access control (for read access).

I was thinking that the Trust Metrics as implemented in mod_virgule are a single dimension. But that you really need separate trust metrics for different roles on the site. e.g. Moderator ability, Technical ability, Writing ability, Popularity etc...