Retiring the Network Spokesman

No single actor attempted to assume total credit for the network's impact.

“And signifi cantly, no single actor attempted to assume total credit for the network's impact.”

Proponents of Peru's FLOSS bill had to undertake various forms of local and nonlocal work to advance their interests, departing from the language of technical and economic rationality repeatedly invoked to explain FLOSS' adoption.

“A closer examination of the practices that surrounded the emergence of Peru's FLOSS legislation reveals that far from presuming FLOSS' steady advancement, the proponents of Peru's FLOSS bill had to undertake various forms of local and nonlocal work to advance their interests.Their practices departed from the language of technical and economic rationality that is repeatedly invoked to explain FLOSS”

At that meeting, the leaders signed an agreement for Microsoft support of Peru's Project Huascaran, an initiative providing Internet access in Peru's rural schools.

“where the leaders signed an agreement for Microsoft support of Peru's Project Huascaran, an initiative providing Internet access in Peru's rural schools.”

The crucial work of translation is notably absent in Peru's poly-vocal FLOSS network.

“This crucial work of translation, however, is notably absent in the Peru's poly-vocal FLOSS network.”

Gates presented Toledo with a donation of $550,000 in money, software and consulting services.

“It also gave Gates the opportunity to present Toldeo with a donation of $550,000 in money, software and consulting services.”

PLUG independently promoted Proposition 1609 without direct communication with Villanueva, Marquina, or Via Libre.

“Crucially, all of PLUG's activities were planned independently, without any direct communication with either Congressman Villanueva, Marquina, or Via Libre.”

Among the varied practices Peru's advocates construct around FLOSS, there is an absence of desire for uniform standardization or purposefully managed coherence.

“Among the varied practices that Peru's advocates construct around FLOSS, it is the absence of a desire for a uniformed standardization, or a purposefully managed coherence that one notes.”

In interviews with Peru's FLOSS advocates, no single coherent logic or explanatory account extended through all groups.

“Important too is how in interviews with Peru's FLOSS advocates, no single, coherent logic or explanatory account extended through all groups.”

The parties in Peru's FLOSS advocacy network included Peruvian Congressmen, civil society-based NGOs, independent coders and programmers, and government-employed technicians.

“These parties in the case of Peru's FLOSS advocacy network included not only Peruvian Congressmen, but civil society-based NGOs, independent coders and programmers, and governmentemployed technicians.”

No one actor's contribution is privileged in accounts offered by Peru's FLOSS advocates.

“Indeed, no one actor's contribution is privileged in accounts offered by Peru's FLOSS advocates.”

Politicians, NGO workers, and individual coders continuously reference the work of others, distributing credit for the network's effect.

“Politicians, NGO workers, and individual coders who participated in the movement instead continuously reference the work of others, distributing credit for the network's effect.”

Another new FLOSS bill sought to require businesses whose primary client was government to use FLOSS.

“The second sought to mandate FLOSS use by businesses whose primary client was government.”

The network of actors involved in promoting FLOSS legislation in Peru included Latin American politicians, independent citizens and entrepreneurs, local Linux and FLOSS user groups, Argentinean programmers, and Peruvian student activists.

“Encompassing Latin American politicians, independent citizens and entrepreneurs working with FLOSS applications, local Linux and FLOSS user groups, Argentinean programmers, and Peruvian student activists, such a network functions as a poly-vocal system that fosters the emergence of new forms of civic expression and that argues for expanded spaces of political participation.”

A University of Maastricht International Institute of Infonomics study funded by the European Commission on FLOSS development and use in public and private sectors drew its policy recommendations from the text of Proposition 1609.

“A recent study completed by the University of Maastricht's International Institute of Infonomics and funded by the European Commission on FLOSS development and use in the public and private sectors drew its policy recommendations from the text of Proposition 1609 (Ghosh et al., 2002).”

• cites Ghosh et al., 2002Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

Network actors generate dynamic bodies of meanings about what FLOSS is, why it should be promoted, and what is ultimately at stake in its promotion.

“Multiply positioned and independently speaking, network actors generate dynamic bodies of meanings about what FLOSS is, why it should be promoted, and what is ultimately at stake in its promotion.”

Peru's FLOSS advocates insisted on a new framing of FLOSS as necessarily engaged with governance and political reform.

“They insisted instead on a new framing of FLOSS as necessarily engaged with governance and political reform.”

One new FLOSS bill sought to create a Consulting Commission to study and authorize government use of FLOSS.

“One sought to establish a Consulting Commission to study and authorize FLOSS' government use.”

When Peru's advocates reflect on the outcomes of their efforts, there is a distinct lack of consensus about the degrees of success they achieved.

“In asking Peru's advocates to refl ect upon the outcomes of their efforts, it is a distinct lack of consensus that one hears about the degrees of success they achieved.”

The introduction of FLOSS' use in Peru's government produced a new narrative around technology procurement.

“Introducing the possibility of FLOSS' use in Peru's government produced a new narrative around processes of technology procurement.”

The emergence of FLOSS legislation operates as a generative force, multiplying the narratives around code and the interpretations of what it would mean for Peru's public and private sectors.

“The emergence of FLOSS legislation operates as a generative force, multiplying the narratives around code and the interpretations of what it would mean for Peru's public and private sectors.”

Movements for the political use and regulation of FLOSS mark a distinct turn in the objectives and work of FLOSS advocates, whose activities had largely focused on disseminating FLOSS as a technological artifact.

“Such movements for the political use and regulation of FLOSS mark a distinct turn in the objectives and work of FLOSS advocates, whose activities largely focused on the dissemination of FLOSS as a technological artifact.”

Despite its un-coordinated nature, the network's discursive generativity manages to challenge dominant assumptions on technological use and development.

“I will show how despite its un-coordinated nature, the network's discursive generativity nonetheless manages to challenge dominant assumptions on technological use and development.”

The production and dissemination of such narratives is a collective, distributed act in which multiple parties independently participate and contribute to effects they only partly credit for and only partially control.

“Crucially, as well, the production and dissemination of such narratives becomes revealed as collective, distributed act, in which multiple parties independently participate and contribute to effects that they are only partly to credit for, and that they only partially control.”

Peru's FLOSS advocates gave voice to new possibilities, rather than minimizing swarms of possibility in favor of constructing obligatory passage points.

“Likewise, if network spokesmen were to be employed to minimize 'swarms of possibility' in favor of constructing 'obligatory passage points,' it was precisely those new possibilities that Peru's FLOSS advocates gave voice to.”

Recognition as a network participant invites a heterogeneous array of new interventions that react to the network's varied discursive productions.

“Perhaps not surprisingly, recognition as a network participant invites a heterogeneous array of new interventions that react to the network's varied discursive productions.”

Crucial to the work of FLOSS network actors is not merely technological productivity, but cultural and political productivity-their ability to produce a diverse body of meaning made evident and mobile in narratives of FLOSS use and adoption.

“It emphasizes that crucial to the work of FLOSS' network actors is not their merely technological productivity, but their cultural and political productivity -that is, their ability to produce diverse body of meaning made both evident and mobile in narratives of FLOSS use and adoption.”

In the case of Peru's FLOSS legislation, the network operates not so much to standardize expression, meaning and practice, but to generate a multiplicity of stories around FLOSS expressed in heterogeneous forms.

“For in the case of Peru's FLOSS legislation, the network operates not so much in the interest of standardizing expression, meaning and practice, but functions to generate a multiplicity of stories around FLOSS that are themselves expressed in a heterogeneity of forms.”

A mid-July 2002 meeting between Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo and Microsoft head Bill Gates, ostensibly unrelated to Peru's FLOSS bills, effectively achieved what Defilippi's and Hilton's letters sought.

“An in-person meeting between Peruvian President Alejandro Toldeo with Microsoft head Bill Gates in mid-July 2002, which ostensibly had nothing to do with Peru's FLOSS bills, effectively delivered on what Defi lippi's and Hilton's letters had hoped to achieve.”

The incongruities between network actors' modes of reassessment demonstrate resistance to, or perhaps impossibility of, imposing any single explanatory account on the network.

“Filtering distinct events, effects and intentions, the incongruencies between network actors' modes of reassessment demonstrate the resistance to, or perhaps impossibility of, having any single explanatory account imposed upon the network.”

However internally disorganized, disunified and cacophonous Peru's polyvocal FLOSS network may be, it is still something actors find they cannot afford not to react to.

“However internally disorganized, disunifi ed and cacophonous Peru's polyvocal FLOSS network may be, it is still a thing that actors fi nd they cannot afford not to react to.”

The analysis of Peru's polyvocal network underscores that central to network performance is not merely the production and extension of FLOSS technological artifacts, but the production of new cultural meanings, discourses, and narratives that account for FLOSS's technical and political value.

“Indeed, my analysis of Peru's polyvocal network underscores that central to network performance is not merely the production and extension of the technological artifacts of FLOSS, but the production of new cultural meanings, discourses, and narratives that account for the technical and political value of FLOSS.”

Central to the network's performance is not merely the extension of FLOSS' technological artifacts, but the production of new discursive spaces, cultural meanings, and narratives that testify to the technical and political value of FLOSS.

“Indeed, what an inquiry into Peru's FLOSS network reveals is that central to the network's performance is not merely the extension of FLOSS' technological artifacts, but the production of new discursive spaces, cultural meanings, and narratives that testify to the technical and political value of FLOSS.”

The emergence of such accounts does not occur spontaneously, but is bound to other narrative bodies that flow through FLOSS' advocacy network.

“But indeed, the emergence of such accounts doesn't occur spontaneously, but is bound to other narrative bodies that fl ow through FLOSS' advocacy network.”

It reveals that networks may function powerfully not just through technological innovativeness and scientific productivity, but through a cultural and discursive productivity that, however disordered, non-coordinated, and cacophonous, may nonetheless produce wider political effects.

“It reveals, in other words, how networks may function powerfully not just through their technological innovativeness and scientifi c productivity, but through a cultural and discursive productivity that, however, disordered, non-coordinated, and cacophonous, may nonetheless produce wider political effects.”

Peru's poly-vocal FLOSS network urges us to consider the disparate meanings and discursive practices that flow around FLOSS as central to a network's performance.

“For Peru's poly-vocal FLOSS network urges us to consider the disparate meanings and discursive practices that fl ow around FLOSS as central to a network's performance.”

Cultural change, not primarily technological stabilization, serves as an organizing motivation of the poly-vocal network.

“In part, this can be explained by the fact that it is cultural change, and not primarily technological stabilization, that serve as organizing motivations of the poly-vocal network.”