A Statement of Intent

free

(fr) adj. fre·er, fre·est 1. Not imprisoned or enslaved; being at liberty. 2. Not controlled by obligation or the will of another: felt free to go. 3. Not affected or restricted by a given condition or circumstance.

meme

(mm) n. A unit of cultural information, such as a cultural practice or idea, that is transmitted verbally  or by repeated action from one mind to another.

We take it to be a given that copyright is not only an unnecessary evil, but is actually holding back all of human progress. It is inimical to the basic nature of information, which is to be free, to be exchanged, to evolve. From the basic language of life itself to the most brilliant literary and artistic works, information begets information, and each novel idea owes its existence to countless ideas that came before it.

We are not here to argue against copyright philosophically, economically, practically, or emotionally; that has been done exhaustively and eloquently and bears no further discussion. We need not argue that human progress has done just fine in absence of intellectual property for most of 300,000 years of existence, nor do we need to dispel common fallacies and historical misconceptions about its effects or nature. We need not laugh at the idea that the copyright monopolists somehow protect, encourage, or reward artists. We have nothing new present beyond the thousands of examples of open source software and free exchange of information that literally powers the entire global economy. We should not have to explain the self-evident fact that intellectual monopoly cannot coexist with personal freedom, privacy, and ownership of personal and real property. We cannot present a legal argument defending the free exchange of ideas, as the legal systems of most of the world are corrupted and perverted by anti-mind, anti-liberty thugs and mystics beyond any hope of functionality.

Our purpose here is not to convert – either you are with us, you are against us, or you are too ignorant to be capable of declaring a side. No, all that is left to us now is to fight.