[hackerspaces] Proprietary Product Company as a sponsor of FOSS event

[Moritz]

You're asking about morals, so this is obviously going to be very
subjective.

On 07/03/2014 12:52 PM, Avinash Sonawane wrote:
> 1) To have a proprietary product company as a sponsor of FOSS event is
> it morally right? I mean there will be banners, flyers of that
> proprietary company all over the venue.

No. Commercial, proprietary sponsoring in my eyes is fine, usually it is
in the form of hardware or something, but in my eyes you should not in
return mention the sponsorship ANYWHERE in the public on banners or flyers.

The CCC for example in theory allows sponsors, be it commercial or
non-commercial or proprietary or non-proprietary, but the sponsors won't
be advertised ANYWHERE.

> In an event we are promoting
> FOSS and on a venue we are promoting/marketing proprietary product
> company. Isn't it contradictory behaviour?

Yes.

> But if we deny the sponsorship aren't we depriving that proprietary
> company of doing a noble deed (of supporting a FOSS event)?

They can sponsor you just because they like you, they can buy expensive
business tickets that also have free alcohol on them, whatever. You're
not depriving them of anything just by refusing to put up advertising.

You're asking about morals? Advertising should be banned. Who wants to
see blinking shit sprayed all over public places? Nobody. A nice hacker
con is something where YOU build the kind of (temporary) space and world
we want. And do we really want bullshit ads in our world? I don't.

> 2) What about proprietary *service* company?

Does not make any difference. Sponsoring is fine, no ads anywhere.

> 3) A solution?
> Accepting a sponsorship from a proprietary company (product/service)
> and placing a large banner at the entrance of a venue as well as on
> the website saying "We do not necessarily support any of our sponsors'
> products or philosophy." as a countermeasure, will work?

No.

> Or is it similar to printing "smoking is injurious to health" on
> cigarette packets and continuing the cigarette production at the same
> time and later on denying any responsibility saying "We warned you"?

Yes.

> Personally I think printing a warning on cigarette packet is a big
> joke; because if you really cared for the health of society you would
> have stopped the production itself.

+1