By Alfredo Dillon
Translation: Guy Simpson

Virtual ants: the developers of free software are collectively creating, with nothing to back them but their own interest, an alternative to the Microsoft empire. They work from home with the passion of the hacker (the enthusiast sort, not the vandal or thief). "Hackers resolve problems and make things; they believe in freedom and voluntary, mutual aid," writes Eric Raymond in How to become a hacker. Free software developers have made this declaration their own; and, for many of them, to be known as "hackers" is a source of pride. There are several groups of this kind in Argentina, constituting a virtual community with meritocracy as their only organizing principle. MYRIADES 1 interviewed Víctor Rodríguez (1), of the Perl group, and Facundo Batista, of PyAr. Both form part of collective initiatives which aim to develop programming languages independent of the information monopolies and intellectual property.

–What does the group's work consist of?
F. B.: The group's objective centres around the users of Python language, with the idea of centralizing communication at a national level. We want to reach users and businesses, promote the use of Python, exchange information, share experiences and, in general, be the local point of reference for the use and distribution of this technology. To this end we give talks and help universities and businesses with their technological decisions, etc.
V. R.: The group is a meeting point for people with technical uncertainties. People who are looking for a solution using Perl language. Our primary interaction takes place via a mailing list, which we mainly use to clear up queries. In addition, we hold monthly meetings which act as social gatherings where we chat about all kinds of topics, generally linked to technology. Our group is also part of a worldwide group know as the Perl Mongers.

–What interests you in spreading the use of free software?
F. B.: Many things. Some are philosophical, others are practical. From a philosophical point of view, the State and the universities ought always to use free software, for reasons of sovereignty and the dissemination of information and knowledge. It's important that a sovereign State, which is responsible for the data on its citizens and its dealings with them, to be free of dependence on foreign companies. Which is to say, it shouldn't use programs that can be audited, and which could be susceptible to espionage, for example. And universities should always promote the dissemination of information and knowledge –and free software is ideal for this purpose. Amongst the practical reasons, I should mention that Python has a lot of support at international level, that is costs free, that it brings about a remarkable improvement in programmers' efficiency, and that it is so easy to learn and use that anyone can benefit from it.

–Do the group members have a typical profile? Do you need to have studied information science to become a developer?
F. B.: No, there is a mix of profiles within the group.  The group is open to anyone interested in joining it, to such an extent that we have on board specialists in other areas who use Python for their own purposes (for example, biologists, sound engineers, etc), who are not programmers themselves.
V. R.: Most of us are geeks, but the only thing you need to be part of Perl is an attitude that wants to investigate and learn constantly. As for whether you need to have studied or not, a large part of the free software community is a good example of how studying is not a prerequisite for being a developer. The important thing is to want to participate.

–How much time do your members spend on the project?
F. B.: It varies a lot from person to person, but as it's a community that is freely based on voluntary contributions, there is no mechanism or structure to oblige or limit what each member brings to it. This is clear from the mailing list, where one person may be the biggest contributor one month, then disappear for a couple of months, then reappear on the scene. Generally speaking, all of us in Python Argentina do it as a hobby, with all the limitations which that implies –time, money, etc– but also with all the advantages; the quality of the work, for example.
V. R.: The mailing list is constantly active; and then we meet once a month. As for dedication, it varies a great deal: some people are on the programming full time, while others are systems administrators and program sporadically.

–¿Do you charge for the work you do as developers?
F. B.: As a group, we don't do development work for third parties. The development we carry out is for internal use or we free it up as an open source.

–What motivates you to do all this?
F. B.: The motivation is a personal thing, but as a rule key factors are wanting to share something that you find fun and to help other people. These are the same things that motivate other free software groups, or people who set up charitable societies, or those who go and teach in very poor areas.
V. R.: The spirit of "free software" is the primary stimulus: working together, learning something new and the pleasure of helping out. But it's also true that taking part in free software projects is looked upon more and more favourably in the business world, so it's also an investment that you're putting in, for a job or even a career.

–Would you compare what you do to the wikipedians?
F. B.: The work of the wikipedians, like ours, has as its starting point an extended structure, in which each person contributes what they can or want to, and there are no other obligations than social or cultural ones (respect for others, creating and not destroying, etc). The end results are different, although we have some objectives in common, such as spreading information or facilitating free access to knowledge.
V. R.: The wikipedian profile is different. Our group is smaller; we're motivated by the programming and we get together to talk. Some of us give talks at exhibitions and universities.

–According to authors like Pekka Himanen (The Hacker Ethic, and the Spirit of the Information Age), all free software developers may be considered a hacker. Do you see yourselves that way? Why?
F. B.: If you read that book, you'll understand that to be a hacker is a very fine thing, something to which one might aspire to as a philosophy of life. Modesty forbids us to consider ourselves as hackers, although we aspire to be, and we're delighted to be recognized as such.
V. R.: If we take "hacker" in the sense of someone who likes to find out how something works, someone who tries to be part of what they're using, as opposed to being a passive consumer, then the answer is: yes. It's also true that people commonly think of us as hackers because we are bent on finding ingenious solutions to complex problems, and Perl is ideal for that. On the other hand, the title of hacker is only gained by merit. You can't just say "I'm a hacker" and that's that; it's the hacker community which decides whether someone is or isn't. So we can't say whether we're hackers or not, but what we can say is that we love what we do, and that's why we're doing it.

–Do you have any kind of hierarchy? Is there a leader? 
F. B.: There is no internal hierarchy in the group, so nobody has a formal role as leader. But as the drive behind different projects, jobs or themes comes from the members themselves, there will normally be between one and five people who are progressing a particular project, coordinating and organising. Obviously, as there are some people who are always there, participating and contributing, in the end a meritocracy is formed, in which not all the different opinions of the members carry the same weight or are paid the same attention.
V. R.: At present, there is a leader figure who organizes meetings and takes responsibility for interacting with other organizations. That aside, there are no hierarchies, and anyone who wants to do a certain task or develop an idea may do so. In most free software groups there are no de facto or formal leaders; simply someone who is more charismatic or suited to that kind of work proposes things, and so they become more important. All the same, in most of them, the organization is fairly anarchic.

–What are the advantages and disadvantages of forming part of a collective project?
F. B.: That's a complicated question, philosophically and anthropologically. As an advantage, the main thing is to come together as a society, to try to make a better world by means of forming links between people and the synergies that this creates, and all the objectives that can be achieved when one and one are more than two. A disadvantage is that communication between humans is not easy: it's not the same getting thirty people to agree on something as it is three.
V. R.: One of the major advantages is that the community can help you to see things from different points of view. On the other hand, each person can devote themselves to what most interests them, and that facilitates personal and collective development enormously. Put another way, the key is to fill in the gaps of some with the knowledge of others. As for disadvantages, basically there is one: listening to all the voices and points of view can end up being a little tiring, especially when you have to choose in good conscience between just a few.

References
(1) Víctor Rodríguez would like to express special thanks to Diego Gómez, Diego Vadell, Martín Ferrari, Matías Palomec, N3krodamus and Walter Lamagna for their help in making this interview possible.

More information:
Perl organization Perl
Python organization Python language
Raymond, Eric S., How to become a hacker
GNU project http://www.gnu.org/