Al Gore Goes "Open Source" 330
Mike@ABC
writes "Can a web site be open source? Al Gore says so,
and the man did create the Internet, after all.
Gore is looking for people to contribute code for his presidential campaign site.
The page says: "This is your web site -- IT'S OPEN SOURCE --
and I want you to help us build it."
" They even have a cute little "Gore 2000 Logo" for
officially approved "Gore 2000 Merchandise". And Tipper
has her own section! Funniest thing I've seen all morning.
I wonder if this will meet the open source requirements.
You know you've ARRIVED when... (Score:1)
Give the guy some credit for trying... (Score:1)
Nothing wrong with that.
Al Gore not friendly to vision impaired (Score:1)
vision impaired persons:
[INLINE] [INLINE] [INLINE] [INLINE] [INLINE] [INLINE] [INLINE]
Not very nice, Al, honey.
Anonymous Coward
This has got to be the stupidest thing I've seen (Score:1)
Let's check the websites again... (Score:1)
Did you look at the page source? (Score:1)
---
My email to their so called 'Legal Team' (Score:1)
Open Source government would be nice, Al. (Score:1)
Thanks for the "Open Source" web page Al, but how about "open source" government?
It really chaps my hide when these political weasels think we're supposed to kiss their rings because they throw around a buzzword or two. Does this guy have a clue? Doesn't he realize that only a relative handful of people even understand what "Open Source" is, and that we few see right through the blatant misuse of the term? Has this guy ever touched a keyboard outside of a few grade school photo ops?
Ok here's one (Score:1)
Is Tipper a name? (Score:1)
--
what's a voter to do? (Score:1)
I know its been said already, but vote Libertarion.
It DOES count. In Min. they had two looser canditates (I.e. Presidential race '99
Democrat==No money for you, I.E. Communism/Socialism
Republican==Say good things (somewhat) and then vote with the democrates.
Libertarion==Vote for Less taxes (I.e. 10% of curren t taxes. Vote for less buricratic laws (Laws are like computer code, the more you have the more they screw up) Etc.
Whoa! (Score:1)
I'm amazed that there is a politician that knows the term "open-source" regardless of whether they know what it means or not.
Al Gore is an Open Sore (Score:1)
Just checked out his website long enough to see
that Mr. Open Sore uses IIS as his server. So
much for an interest in Open Source software.
-buffy
If the Titanic was filled with lawyers, it would
not have been a disaster.
Shirt Idea!!! (Score:1)
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
AL GORE IS GOD!
HAHAHA
Ok this is getting VERY funny!
Yeah, I used Gore 2000 for a while (Score:1)
'kept crashing all the time, though... ah, well.
The OSD grants the right to satire. (Score:1)
Point 1 gives me the freedom to redistribute. Point 3 allows me to create derived versions and redistribute those. And points 6 and 7 explicitly forbid any attempt to disallow mocking or satirical versions!
So, let's see those "Gore2K Problem" websites now!
--
It is to laugh (Score:1)
Proposal 0.0 (Score:1)
This is a good idea actually. Especially if it can get some media coverage. Point out that he is not only running the site on close-source proprietary software, but that he seems to meet virtually none of the requirements of Open Source software. Those that he does meet seem almost accidental. Al and his lawyers need to be educated with a really big clue-stick.
Gore and buzzwords (Score:1)
If it was really Open Source (Score:1)
God Damn "size=1"! (Score:1)
God Damn "size=1"! (Score:1)
algore2000.com runs NT!! (Score:1)
From http://www.e-softinc.com/probe/probe.html [e-softinc.com]
Site being probed: http://www.algore2000.com
Web Server: Microsoft-IIS/4.0
Operating System: Ascend Pipeline Firmware 4.6 (by c.mock@xsoft.co.at)
Page Retrieval Time: 5.19 seconds
Connect time: 0.47
Wait time: 0.92
Data Recv time: 3.80
Other: 0.00
Size of page: 18259 bytes
Don't complain... (Score:1)
!Xabbu
"It compiled? The startup screen came up? SHIP IT!" - Bill Gates
Blood & Gore (Score:1)
Give the guy a break...he really has been supporting the internet for a long, long time and he is on our side. This "open source" thing is a tiny little note in a very large site of quite reasonable politics.
Gore 2000 On Line Safety Tips for Kids (Score:1)
8. Be a good online citizen and do not do anything that hurts other people or is against the law.
Using the Open Source trademark without permission to promote something that violates their guidelines is clearly illegal, no?
Laugh at the site while you can, kids... i'm sure the cease-and-desist order is being Fed-Ex'd now.
You know what REALLY sucks, though? I'd *love* to have a candidate who both understands and promotes Open Source ideals! And i think it's a safe bet that as soon as someone gets the remotest clue there, this page will come down and no mention of it will be made again. No public apology, for sure! Instead, how about a nice page apologizing for not understanding what they got into, a link to opensource.org, and a more reasonable promotion policy?
Nah.
Another pithy quote (Score:1)
forces of technology, and use them to
strengthen our oldest values -- to
promote freedom, to educate our
children, and to lift our families and our
nations up."
- Al Gore
Well, Al... i DO use open source, this powerful new force of technology, to promote freedom, and to educate my children. And i do so love to hear my five year old son say he want to boot out of Windows and "play gnome" instead.
They removed most of the Open Source stuff - NOT! (Score:1)
My email to their so called 'Legal Team' (Score:1)
===
Old Fart!!! Of tha SENIOR DADS!!!!!
Can they claim Opensource? (Score:1)
HAHAHAHAHA (Score:1)
Sure it's a bit late, but this puts Segfault/UF
to shame...
Dis anny one look at the html fot the top page? (Score:1)
C programers and stuff but I certenly
cant't find the source to there CGI
programs; are thay soposed to be open
too?
Let's make a deal (Score:1)
Please don't think I'm going Jon Katzian on you; the amount of political power that all of the Net's geeks have by virtue of Al's aspirations is approximately equal to that of one local chapter of the American Association for the Advancement of Retired Persons (AARP). But still, that's better than nothing.
So, if Al want's some high-level geek endorsements, let's talk turkey. For starters, can we count on a presidential veto the next time something as awful as the orginal CDA comes down the pike? Joe Random Slashdotter is not about to pursue a deal like that, but some of our Exalted Leaders might very well be sitting down at the table with His Goreship before this is all out.
If/when that happens, just remember not to be so thrilled at your own newfound importance that you sell the farm without getting anything real in return. He's still a politician, after all. I know plenty of gays, for example, who are still smarting about how they were taken in by Clinton in '92, endorsing him in return for a promise to end anti-gay discrimination in the military, only to get the shaft when that turned out to require something akin to actual backbone on the part of the Commander in Chief.
He couldn't talk about freedom (Score:1)
Bruce
Why can't the V.P. of the U.S. dance? (Score:1)
Isn't that a trademark? (Score:1)
I'd really like to see the OSI really run him up poop creek for this one. First the internet, now Open Source. What else is Al Gore going to try to take credit for? Inventing the concept of a public sewer system? The Wheel?
Leapfrog, the disgruntled.
PS: I can tell ya who I'm NOT voting for. Let's all write in Malda for Prez!
Promptly after inventing Open Source (Score:1)
one catch, though... it's pronounced:
"Oopen Suorce"
(Now, if you invented the internet, wouldn't you be able to say how the compononents are pronounced? Can you say rooter?)
Uh, haha? (Score:1)
The site is hosted on a Microsoft IIS server. Ironic? Hypocritical? Surreal?
"Officially licensed" Gore2000 gear? I guess his image and likeness aren't under an open license. Oh, and he's using the closed source Softcart.exe to hawk his goods.
This site is so bad as to almost certainly be an elaborately conceived parody. If not, it's another slap in the face of every intelligent citizen on the Internet. I pray to happy hairy Jesus that this man is not the Democratic candidate for President in 2000.
Gee, (Score:1)
just my $0.02...
-Vik
Next thing you know... (Score:1)
Gore = Democrat(Quayle);
Whoops - forgot AL's GOt NO Rithm..
Oh dear lord, no! (Score:1)
trademark violation??
Steve
Internet + Tipper Gore = BAD (Score:1)
Ya know, if you can't take care of your own....
Brian
Let's make a deal (Score:1)
"Well yes, we would like to get on the net, but my friend's sister's brother-in-law signed on to Netscape (don't you love when people think Netscape is an ISP?) and all these porn ads popped up out of nowhere! Please Al Gore, wise leader of the internet information revolution super open source highway, help us get on the bridge to the 21st century!"
And there are a lot more of them than there are of us. Don't buy into this. He just wants to use us and abuse us (As Clinton did w/ gays).
Brian
What ryhms w/ (Score:1)
How do you spell "Rhymes"?
ESR for Prez!! (Score:1)
RMS should do fine.
- Darchmare
- Axis Mutatis, http://www.axismutatis.net
OpenContent for Content (Score:1)
On the other hand, the open content license [opencontent.org] could apply to the material on this site, but I seriously doubt that Gore would want to do that.
This could be fun... (Score:1)
C'mon, give _ME_ a break (Score:1)
Don't complain... (Score:1)
And, he used "Information SuperHighway" as a buzzword AFTER the Internet had started getting momentum. It doesn't mean that he did ONE thing to actually popularize it.
Just because I yell "Look at the parade" as it starts to go by, doesn't mean that I organized the parade, or brought lots of people in to watch.
Lots of other people were yelling, too. And most people came because their neighbor told them about it.
Jesus, Taco...didn't you release the source to /.? (Score:1)
1) Slashdot has an extensive back end to handle user accounts and manage articles. Gore's site is pretty static. In other words, there's no actual code to open source, except HTML and JavaScript.
2) The "Internet" (not 'ARPAnet' late '60s early '70s) throughout most of the period that Gore may have even known about it, was always private, ran on AT&T phone lines (Later mostly MCI and Sprint), just paid for by the Universities (some using US government funds) and large companies associated with those universities. The US government, especially Congress, had very little to do with any changes that have come about to make the Internet "commercial".
It was the hard working people in the IETF and at various universities and companies around the world that used the Internet were the ones that made the Internet what it is. We find it useful because they made it useful for their research projects and communications. When companies started using the Internet for
All Congress has done is footed the bill for many of the US universities (many of which, BTW, were working on US defence projects), and not got in the way by imposing online taxes.
Please note that when Gore was a legislator, a commercial Internet was NEVER even thought of, since that would require people to have computers and networking, which was a rare item in the 80's.
I'm getting really tired of Al Gore taking credit for things he did not do. Let's vote the IETF members in Congress!
"GoreGear"? (Score:1)
Isn't "GoreGear" where people get the masks, knifed-gloves, and whatnot they wear in slasher flicks?
"Hi, I'm Jamie Lee Curtis. When I'm being chased by ax-wielding maniacs, I make sure that I am dressed to kill in my 'GoreGear'. Shirts, slacks, bandages, they have it all!"
Sorry, biased source... (Score:1)
Hrmmmm....www.microsoft.com Open Source? (Score:1)
Take a look at our source code. Send us your ideas on how to improve it, and build a better campaign web site. The Gore 2000 Volunteer Source Code Project wants to hear from you today!
To get involved with the Gore 2000 Volunteer Source Code Project, e-mail us at:
sourcecodevolunteers@algore2000.com
I could take a look at the "source code" for www.microsoft.com and send them suggestion. Does that mean that I'm participating in an open source project? Perhaps we can get it endorsed by Billy and Al "The Father of the Internet" Gore.
Wow, it takes a special kind of moron to pull off something like this...
Open source on Microsoft IIS ???? (Score:1)
I spanked them. (Score:1)
Thank you
Anybody else? (Score:1)
At least his daughters are cute... (Score:1)
Don't complain... (Score:1)
OpenGore2000 (Score:1)
Open source server? (Score:1)
That's open source now?
Patch 1.0 --> 1.1 (Score:1)
----------------------------------
A special message for Open Source Software enthusiasts:
We are very interested in wooing high tech voters
like those Linux geeks with strange appeals to
their love of Open Source software such as Linux.
For starters, we are conducting a Gore 2000 Linux
Screen Saver design competition among volunteers
to see who can build the best Gore 2000 Linux
screen savers. Just be sure that you use Visual
C++ to write your program, because I'm still
trying to recover from "DLL Hell."
send an e-mail to:
opensource@algore2000.com
This document is to be as WIDELY DISSEMINATED under the OPEN SOURCE philosophy as POSSIBLE!
Apologies if this has been sent to the wrong e-mail address. If you want to get off our list, tough fu**** luck.
Oh dear lord, no! (Score:1)
"Algore" just alienated the Linux crowd (Score:1)
At the rate he's going, he's going to be literally laughed out of the election with those increasingly clueless remarks.
Whatever it is, I nearly fell out of my chair when I read the article. (^_^)
Everything I see about Gore depresses me more (Score:1)
Even more so, that people ever considered him worthy of election for anything.
History, if we dont learn from it, we live thru it again and again and again.
Al Gore-Defiler of the Nerds (Score:1)
--support of tipper gores PMRC crusade
--vocal and legislative support of Crypto Controls
--vocal and legislative support of Internet Controls
--vocal and legislative support of Censorship in the school and in the general media
His stance on the environment have provento be more sham than not. In his time as both legislator and VP he has done way more harm than good, has viilated most of the statements of purpose he laid out in his book, and proves himself to talk out of all three orifces at once.
Think of his actions
This could be fun... (Score:1)
P.S. Note sent to legalteam@gorewebsite.com and sourcecodevolunteers@algore2000.com. Oy. --Tom
Let's not even go there. (Score:1)
Long live the GOSL!
Oh lord. Let's not give this man any ideas. He seems to be searching around blindly for them.
I consider myself a democrat, but Gore makes me sick.
Hehehe.
Also see his Linux screen saver contest (Score:1)
$ perl -e 'print "GET / HTTP/1.0\n\n";' | nc -v -v www.algore2000.com 80 | & head -12
Warning: inverse host lookup failed for 208.206.40.209: Unknown host
algore2000.com [208.206.40.209] 80 (http) open
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Server: Microsoft-IIS/4.0
Content-Location: http://208.206.40.209/index.html
Date: Wed, 07 Apr 1999 19:35:33 GMT
Content-Type: text/html
Accept-Ranges: bytes
Last-Modified: Tue, 06 Apr 1999 20:37:37 GMT
ETag: "863f984e6d80be1:c93"
Content-Length: 18259
what's a voter to do? (Score:1)
You can always vote for a third party as a protest vote. If there are enough protest votes, they might even win, or at least give the others a bit of a shake. I'll be voting Libertarian [lp.org].
I would vote for the most qualified squirrel, but not are running at present.
Alan R. Light
Monroe, NC
A little about Gore (Score:1)
http://www.algore2000.com/issues/technolo.html
This would appear to imply support of the CDA on his part.On the other hand, his much-derided Information Superhighway comment was what got me back on the Internet. (I had been on the ArpaNet as a teen in the late 70s). I figured that, if a politician was aware of the net, it was probably at a takeoff point. Although I personally didn't make quite the right moves to benefit from that fact, it did get me here on time to grab the domain amazing.com before anyone else :-)
----
What ryhms w/ (Score:1)
www.gore2000.COM??? (Score:1)
Unfortunately, they stopped paying attention to the proper way to do things long ago.
What ryhms w/ (Score:1)
Gore has got what it takes... (Score:2)
Your vote counts! Less and less. It used to be that your leaders were chosen for you in smoke-filled rooms (i.e. by Fat Cats with big stogies hashing out the spoils of power). Now they're chosen for you in smoke-free rooms.
It's really funny to see all these threads whenever /. articles mention politics. You'd think that there was some sort of American college football game going on -- this is what politics and political discourse has been reduced to. Go State! Go Tech! Fsck you! Fsck you!
But that's a pretty fair description of what goes on in the larger world. The Vince Lombardi ethos (Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing) has taken over in a big way. So all these candidates are out there, trying to cash in some chips to raise money and attract more Fat Cats; I saw John McCain kiss major ass a while back, speaking at a South Carolina GOP gathering. That sort of spoils his appeal, doesn't it? He's supposed to be a think-for-himself non-kisser of asses, even GOP ones.
People like Gore, Elizabeth Dole, and George W Bush (the current frontrunners) have been preparing this run for years and years. When I first heard Bush utter the words "compassionate conservative" a year ago, I knew he'd already been reading his focus group data.
Politics is a business these days. No more, no less. The goal is to gain and keep power at all costs. Fight fight fight! Win win win! Go State! Lie if you have to, especially on TV; it isn't really a lie if you can get a lot of people to believe it. Bend the law if you must. These people aren't real leaders or public servants; the only people our elected representatives really represent are their major campaign donors and the party bosses (the groups are pretty much interchangeable these days). There are still a few exceptions, but none of them are running for president.
Your vote counts, but you have to do a lot of time-consuming homework. And a lot of time-consuming watchdogging -- people in power live their power trips 24/7. Who has the time to keep up with that? Most Americans choose not to. They get the government they deserve.
--
LP vs DP on Crypto, remember? (Score:2)
Has this changed?
At least the LP [lp.org] is running Apache, even if it is on Solaris...
Politics as usual, Democrats try "feel good" stuff, which is all talk with nothing behind it, Republicans don't rate except with the silent majority, so not as much "foot in mouth" syndrome, and the Libertarian Party firmly lives up to it's promises, and therefore goes ignored, because no one knows how to deal with politicians that do and believe what they say...
Don't complain... (Score:2)
!Xabbu
Think of the humanity (Score:2)
And instead of that, all I see is derision. He's trying, now if only you could think of the opportunities.
Give the guy some credit for trying... (Score:2)
Or is he trying to just use this to help further his political career by appealing to a voting block & make himself look like he's hip & on the cutting edge?
Thanks, Slashdotters (Score:2)
own website. Any guesses how long it will take before a lawyer calls about copyright violations?
Maybe we should do that to prove a point
Why can't the V.P. of the U.S. dance? (Score:2)
Or it could be bad because they will need to buy more MS IIS servers to handle an additional 20 hits/hour, and give Gates more money.
He couldn't talk about freedom (Score:2)
When people outside of our community hear the term "Free Software" they generally think "Zero cost" software, not Freedom. Open Source is an attempt to clear up that confusion, which you should know since you were a part of it.
Their source is not available (Score:2)
Opensource == Publicity? (Score:2)
Could everyone *please* stop trying to jump on the boat to get more publicity?
*grumble*
Open Source != Free Software (Score:2)
RMS may be able to add the no revocation clause, and we respect him for it, but it doesn't affect the use of the term Open Source.
If it's truly open-source... (Score:2)
And I can't wait to see what Jesse Ventura and Harry Browne come up with...
Do they actually want the source? (Score:2)
I can see this screensaver with pictures of Al and nice little anecdotes ("Did you know that Al invented the internet? Well he did when he was in college in ...At the age of 21..") And then about 3 months before the election, a date switch flips and the anecdotes change ("Did you know that Al molested his daughters? Well he did and continues to do so.")
C'mon, give the guy a break (Score:2)
And for those who don't like his attempt to solicit volunteers (perhaps I shouldn't use the term solicit w.r.t. politicians:); I've yet to see any election campaign succeed without them.
ya well
Thanks, Slashdotters (Score:2)
...and found that at least 47 people had beat me to it.
I'm glad to see there ARE still people who know nonsense when they see it. It's made my day (no joke).
On another note, if AG's website IS open source, I guess I can copy it, modify it, and put it up at my own website. Any guesses how long it will take before a lawyer calls about copyright violations?
It's not AlGore2000 (Score:2)
Why can't the V.P. of the U.S. dance? (Score:3)
Come on folks, if we try hard enough, we should be able to
His Server is Running IIS (Score:3)
Look a little closer....Guess he invented spam too (Score:3)
Couple spam, censorship and trademark violations and what do you get? Al Gore.
Chris DiBona
--
Grant Chair, Linux Int.
VP, SVLUG
Legal issues aboud! (Score:3)
http://www.algore2000.com/g etinvolved/legal_notice.html [algore2000.com]
It seemed pretty strict with the requirements and there was a really interesting little quote that said, "If Gore 2000 selects your material for use on our website we will contact you with further legal requirements. "
It may be "Open Source", but I doubt it meets the requirements for " Free Software [fsf.org]" (as mentioned earlier today [slashdot.org].)
Can they claim Opensource? (Score:3)
Of course, one of them is probably a democrat, another a republican, and what do you wanna bet Stallman is an independent? Perhaps it would be better to ignore the whole thing and crawl under a rock, while listening to my Captial Steps CDs (I wouldn't want to be totally apolitical)
If it was really Open Source (Score:3)
Somehow, I don't think he would be amused.
Best Open Source Liscence Ever! (Score:3)
Long live the GOSL!
How many days until Gore takes credit for Open Source? Any chance he invented Perl, too?
Gee, (Score:3)
I guess it never did anything before?
(And yes, I know that's not what "Open Source" really means. But that button has probably been responsible for more self-taught HTML programmers than any single book.)
Also see his Linux screen saver contest (Score:3)
<!-------Attention Open Source Enthusiasts!--------------------
A special message for Open Source Software enthusiasts: We are
very interested in developing content that takes advantage of Open
Source software such as Linux. For starters, we are conducting a
Gore 2000 Linux Screen Saver design competition among volunteers
to see who can build the best Gore 2000 Linux screen savers. If
you would like to submit a Gore 2000 Linux screen saver for
consideration, or if you have ideas for this project, please
send an e-mail to:
opensource@algore2000.com
Watch this space for more Open Source ideas and
volunteer opportunities.
-------------------------------------------------- ------------>
I spanked them. (Score:4)
Yes, Open Source is a trademark.
Yes, they're violating it. The OSD requires no discrimination against persons or groups, and yet they refuse to accept contributions from businesses. The OSD requires that the code (and documentation) be freely copyable, and yet NO copyright permissions are granted in their HTML.
Yes, they'll stop or we'll die trying.
-russ nelson, OSI board member in charge of misuse
What is Open Source (Score:5)
This is definately one of the funniest things that I've seen all week. Some days, I really think Al Gore would be better off working the Funny Bone chain than the Presidental campaign circuit. But that's just me.
So, let's take a look at this web site and see how it ranks as open source? That could be fun...
The Freedom to run the program for any purpose.
Hmm. Can we use his website as something other than what it is intended? Can we in fact copy his web page source and make a similar page decrying his ideals and misunderstanding of the world? We can certainly try... I wonder what his lawyers would say? Please note that his copyright statement on that page does explicitly state that they reserve all rights and do not grant any particular license for alternate usage.
The Freedom to stucy how it works.
Well, we can do that. But that's the beauty behind the web: you can always do that.
The Freedom to redistribute copies.
This is a toughie. International law does saw that it is always legal to cache copies of web pages in your browser (or other means) in order to view a page. But that does not apply to print media and the definition of open source does not include any specific qualifications for what means source may be distributed. (Even if it is silly to print out all that code.) Again I point to the fact that they suggest that all rights are reserved.
The Freedom to improve code and release it to the public.
Well, Al Gore certainly wants you to improve his code. But take a look, his implied license states only that you may submit your changes to him (his employees). This violates the spirit of free software by not allowing your changes to be circulated without the consent of a third party. If no part of this farse is wrong but this one, this would truly be funny. The free software guidelines explicitly state: "If you do publish your changes, you should not be required to notify anyone in particular, or in any particular way." I can't see a more blatant misuse of the "Open Source" trademark than a person or organization who breaks this most important of rules.
Irrevocable Freedoms
The free software guidelines states that software that is distributed free may not have cluuses or otherwise which would cause you to have your license revoked without cause. We can not explicitly state whether AL Gore violates this practice but we can point out that we don't even know the full text of the source license until after we submit changes: If Gore 2000 selects your material for use on our website we will contact you with further legal requirements.
All in all, I highly recommend that everyone send mail to Gore 2000 explining to them this misuse of the "Open Source" trademark. A good place to start would be legalteam@algore2000.com [mailto] or sourcecodevolunteers@algore2000.com [mailto].
This kind of blatant misuse of the open source philosophy should not go, in my opinion, without the thundering reminders of many many voting-age open sourceists in the email boxes of those who seek to rape our most sacred of ideologies. Joe