From GTALUG

Sitemap > Issues > Public Awareness - Tshirts

This project was moved from User:Dl33t.

Contents 1 Public Awareness: T-Shirt thoughts [1] 1.1 Overview 1.2 Versions 1.3 Bugs 1.4 Goals 1.5 Challenges 1.6 Wishlist 2 Endnotes

Public Awareness: T-Shirt thoughts [1]

Overview

One of the things I'd rather do sooner than later is to prepare a version 2.0 series of f/loss-awareness T-Shirts. Well, actually, I'd like to develop an online factory for producing heat transfer images, then making them available online.

As for the distribution problem, all it boils down to is publicity. Anyone with an inkjet printer can grab some heat-transfer paper from the Wal-Mart or Zellers down the road, run an iron for a couple minutes, wash/dry the shirt (and put it on.  ;-)

[Possible LUG interest: Spend $20-$100 on the paper/ink and have a bring-your-own-shirt event?]

Anyway, I'd like to ask questions or make comments relevant to the use of Free/Libre and Open Source Software in the Canadian Government.

There will be an election at some point and that makes this a great time for making people think about some of the issues at hand that can and do affect them. Software patents do not visibly affect anyone's day-to-day life (yet), but that shouldn't make it unimportant. It might even be more important than most Canadians think.

Worth a look: http://www.digital-copyright.ca/

Versions

Version 1

1. Does your Government F/LOSS? - Free/Libre and Open Source Software. (2004)
   "Free up some of them there tax dollars, eh?" [Note: see Bug #3 below]

Version 2 (examples)

1. Taxpayer IT dollars - Upgrade now: free(dom) with subscription to innovation
2. Open Standards - If ("the medium is the message") then lets talk.
3. "All your roads are belong to us!" [Need to dig up the image again, and gimp a canadian version]
4. [No concept yet, to target software patent issues]
5. [No concept yet, to target internet issues]
6. (open to suggestions)

Bugs

Version 1, done last year in a rush, neglected at least the following:

1. The legality of using the logos,
2. The propriety of using various nation's flags,
3. The quote "Free up some of them there tax dollars, eh?" - does not convey enough of the freedom/libre meaning.

Goals

Version 2, todo list:

1. What resources are required.
2. Determine what kinds of project sponsorship are available, and from whom.
3. Locate and research effective combination of floss-project "powered-by" logos.
4. Select and contact copyright and/or trademark owners for permission to use said logos.
5. Get as many TLUG, CLUE, CanOpenER, and Canadian fooLUG "powered-by" logos as possible.
6. Find a web host... perhaps TLUG's shiny new MediaWiki? (/. that, lol. ;-)
7. Build heat-transfer pages containing an iron-on image, instructions, general f/loss links, and revision history. [2]

Challenges

1. This is a great sign I think, but problematic for the t-shirts: http://www.cio-dpi.gc.ca/fap-paf/oss-ll/faq_e.asp

Wishlist

• A powered-by Defense R & D logo! =D

Endnotes

• [1]: Manifesto
• [2]: The concept is: like a software project page, just... without the software. (Ok, well t-shirts are soft, and you wear them, but... n/m  ;-)