Windows 7 Sins.  It is the name of a campaign and Web site launched by the Free Software Foundation in a misguided (IMHO) attempt to publicize some of the issues in software choice.  Right from the start and without reading a word on the Web site, it says two things very strongly:

1. Windows 7 commits sins.
2. Windows 7 users are sinners.

The site provides a decent amount of information.  But I would imagine that a good portion of its potential readers that are linked to the site will stop reading at the domain name, windows7sins.org, just for the two very clear things it says.  Okay, so we have a very strong tie to science, but does that mean that we should alienate people from the start?  I do not think so.  If you are curious, the alleged “sins” are: poisoning education, invading privacy, monopoly behavior, lock-in, abusing standards, enforcing DRM, and threatening user security.

So, we can hold those points as true: Microsoft has done all of these things, and many more, which make supporting it as an organization something that some of us would shudder to think of, and that many more of us simply would not do if given the choice.  And that is the real key to freedom, is it not?  That we should give out the information in a way so as to reach the widest possible audience, that is.  Not that we use emotional manipulation to compel the audience to switch because then all we are doing is forcing them to feel they need to change.  Instead, users should change (or try) when they are ready—not before they are ready, and not because you offended them and made them feel dirty.  That is exactly the same tactic Microsoft uses on its customers in order to convince them of various things like “you get what you pay for,” or “if you did not pay for the software, it is pirated, it’s not legitimate,” or that free software is a form of “malware,” and so forth.  Why should we stoop down to their level?

Wait, am I saying that it is okay if users choose to use Windows?  Yes, I am.  But if Windows is the only thing that you are aware of, and it is all that you know (and believe me, there are still many such people out there) then it is naturally going to be what you are using.  So they’re a “sinner” by default, and that is offensive.  The only thing that they are guilty of is ignorance, and ignorance has a very simple fix: deliver information, let them learn of these things, and then there is no more ignorance.  For many, it is not even intentional ignorance.  They simply do not know.

I think that this campaign would have been a good thing if it did not seek to offend to make its point.  That’s resorting to a very below-the-belt tactic, and it makes the Free Software Foundation (in this case) come out looking no better than Microsoft itself which is unfortunate.  They have done the wrong thing, for the right reason, and it is constructed to make very little go their way.

So, do not refer users to the Windows 7 Sins Web site when attempting to convince them that they should not choose to upgrade to Windows 7 (or are already running it in one of its pre-release forms).  Instead, offer them information.  Explain things to them, and if they aren’t ready to try something else, whatever.  If they want to try something else, and they wind up going back to running Windows for one reason or another, then by all means, let them.  Of course, find out why they did, first, and maybe you can fix something that will eliminate a problem for others, too.

That is freedom.  It’s not free and it’s not easy.  But just remember that users have the freedom to choose, and that is a bigger freedom than what some of them will ever see or understand in free software.  And if they choose to use something we don’t like, that’s fine; it is, after all, their choice.  Who cares if it is not the choice that you would make?