Open letter to KITE CEO on forcing teachers, students and parents to use WhatsApp
Pirate Praveen Sat 6 Jun 2020 2:08PMPublicSeen by 143This letter was started as a response to @Nandakumar Edamana sending an email to SMC mailing list (see the thread here: http://lists.smc.org.in/pipermail/discuss-smc.org.in/2020-June/thread.html). You can see the draft here https://cryptpad.fr/pad/#/2/pad/edit/CLrd8men4PdS4n9+iPs+OzBT/ please contribute.
Update 1: I think we should offer to help teachers interested to provide Free Software based services and some of us should share our phone numbers. Please add your numbers to the cryptpad if you don't mind sharing your number in public.
Update 2: Govt order https://education.kerala.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/GO-Online-Class-First-Bell.pdf (it dies not specify WhatsApp)
Update 3: Join #FreeSoftwareFirstBell:poddery.com matrix group to coordinate future actions as we got reply from KITE CEO and one school teacher.
Follow up: Open Letter to teachers https://codema.in/d/u3EDIs4x/kerala-schools-choose-proprietary-google-suite-for-online-teaching
and dedicated group (separate group for Malayalam and English) to work on Free Software in Education https://codema.in/d/PeEx5bHZ/created-a-new-group-for-free-software-in-education
Would you like to volunteer to support teachers if they choose to provide a Free Software replacement to WhatsApp?
poll by Pirate Praveen Closed Sun 28 Jun 2020 1:00PM
#PrivacyYathra:poddery.com matrix group can be used to coordinate next steps. We got a response from KITE CEO for our support offer. We also got requests from one teacher and using #FreeSoftwareFirstBell:poddery.com to support them.
Update: Since reaching out to KITE did not really work out, we are reaching out to teachers directly instead, https://fsci.in/blog/letter-to-kerala-teachers Please sign and share this widely.
If you are still interested to help teachers, join our group dedicated to Free Software in Education (separate groups for English and Malayalam)
https://codema.in/d/PeEx5bHZ/created-a-new-group-for-free-software-in-education
Hope to see you in the group to take it to next level.
When we write to KITE CEO, we will have to offer our support and if we can give them a concrete number of volunteers, that will have more credibility than just criticism.
support : technical assistance with issues during the use of a software (client applications)
setup : support setting up and maintaining infrastructure for a service (server applications)
train : training teachers and students on how to use a software or service
Results
| Results | Option | % of points | Voters | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I'd like to volunteer to train Jitsi | 23 | 16 |      | |||
| I'd like to volunteer to support using Matrix clients | 21 | 15 | | |||
| I'd like to volunteer to setup Moodle | 20 | 14 |   | |||
| I'd like to volunteer to train Moodle | 13 | 9 | | |||
| I'd like to volunteer to support using Signal | 11 | 8 |   | |||
| I'd like to volunteer to support using Telegram-with-Matrix bridge | 6 | 4 | | |||
| I do not support Telegram | 6 | 4 | | |||
| I'd like to support using Quickly/Conversations/XMPP clients | 1 | 1 | | |||
| Undecided | 187 |             |
shineSun 7 Jun 2020 7:28PM
I can support in sysadmin-related tasks ( mostly off hours )
Abraham RajiSun 21 Jun 2020 3:33PM
I believe telegram is a bit more mature and would be an easier replacement for WhatsApp for students and teachers. It's server being run on proprietary software is an issue but in comparison to WhatsApp it's definately a step up.
Telegram still does not have videocalling feature yet so we might have to resort to using Jitsi there.
All this being said I don't mind supporting any of the above technologies if the community chooses to do so.
Abraham RajiSun 21 Jun 2020 3:37PM
I believe telegram is a bit more mature and would be an easier replacement for WhatsApp for students and teachers. It's server being run on proprietary software is an issue but in comparison to WhatsApp it's definately a step up.
Telegram still does not have videocalling feature yet so we might have to resort to using Jitsi there.
All this being said I don't mind supporting any of the above technologies if the community chooses to do so.
Vivek K JSun 7 Jun 2020 3:10PM
I'd like to volunteer to support using Matrix clients
I'd like to volunteer to train Jitsi
AthulSun 7 Jun 2020 3:11PM
I m ready to give training on usage of Matrix and Jitsi
Aji Ahamed Sun 7 Jun 2020 3:11PM
I would like to
dnlcvSun 7 Jun 2020 3:28PM
I'd like to volunteer to support using Matrix clients
I'd like to volunteer to support using Signal
I'd like to volunteer to train Jitsi
Nandakumar EdamanaSun 7 Jun 2020 3:34PM
I'd like to volunteer to help the school community migrate to any libre and privacy-respecting system from the current proprietary and privacy-killing solutions including (but not limited to) WhatsApp and GMail.
Gokul Das B ·Sat 6 Jun 2020 3:30PM
I agree with dangers of non-free SaaS software in education. But how does use of free software exclude use of high end devices? Moodle (frontend) and Matrix clients require as much hardware resources as WhatsApp. Is there a specific point being raised about non-free software and forced use of high-end devices?
Edit: After reading the linked message, I think I get a better idea of what it means. However, unless there is a direct link between non-free software and hardware resources, I feel it is better to rephrase it as:
Many are reluctant to use software like WhatsApp due to concerns about privacy. It would be unethical to force them to use it or act as agents of these software.