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[Thomas Gramstad <thomas AT ifi.uio.no>]

Excellent topic!

And actually, I think "The Semantics of Freedom" is a very good
title, and better than the other suggestions.

"Semantics" in this context can be understood broadly, almost
metaphorically, and it also has the virtue of forming a rather
unique phrase ("The Semantics of Freedom"), which is a good
thing: We can fill this new phrase with what we want, and it
will also stand out in searches (unlike a name like "the way
of freedom" which is what everybody else is talking about).

Thomas


On Tue, 21 May 2013, Stian Rødven Eide wrote:

> We had a new discussion on the conference theme at last meeting.
>
> One idea was to have "The Semantics of Freedom" (although worded
> differently), which I think is a theme that reflects the diversity and
> tolerance that FSCONS stands for.
>
> Semantics of Freedom was initially a track idea I had for a previous
> year. The thought was then to have a discussion on what Freedom is; in
> essence, to ask ourselves what we really are working for - what are our
> goals and dreams? This reason I wanted to have this discussion is partly
> due to FSCONS being a very diverse conference, a meeting ground for many
> different people from different organisations and backgrounds. I think
> it would be very interesting to gain a larger degree of insight into
> this diversity and hope that such a theme would contribute to that.
>
> Some concerns were also raised during the meeting that opening up to
> such a discussion might result in a flamewar (akin to the everlasting
> "which-license-is-freer"-discussion). I believe it's a legit concern,
> but at the same time regard FSCONS as a place where such a discussion is
> likely to be conducted in a civilised and fruitful manner.
>
> Of course, naming the theme "Semantics of Freedom" would in any case be
> too, well, semantic, so we need to reword it if we are going to use it.
> Some suggestions are:
> * The variety/diversity of Freedom
> * The ways of/paths to Freedom
> * The meaning of Freedom
>
> Also, to clarify: The theme is not a hard constraint on any other aspect
> of the conference, but rather like a guideline showing our path and
> progression.
> * We would use it as a slogan, on the website, programme, and
> promotional items
> * We should print a description and motivation for the theme in the
> proramme leaflet so that people know what we mean by it
> * We should tell the keynote speakers about the theme, so that they can,
> if they wish, use it as a guideline for their own talks.
> * We could have, as suggested, a speakers' corner where people can
> express their thoughts on the subject.
>
> So, what do you all think about this suggestion? How would you formulate
> this theme?
> From previous discussions, "crowd"-something also seemed to be a well
> received theme proposal. Any ideas on what we could do with that otherwise?
>
> /Stian