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Re: [Linux-aus] Australian Digital Civil Rights Quiz

Glen Turner wrote: 


Hi Janet,

I'm not arguing against the substance of what you wrote.

<nit picking>

- statistical data modelling 


Not a good example. I don't understand how Excel works, but I
know its stats functions are crap because there is an external
standard to test them against. Equally I know the functions in
SAS are brilliant.  Both are closed source.

There is a question about the rights inherent in a data model,
especially those used in public policy, but again that is an
important fight for others.

OK fair enough.
I suggested it after looking at the kinds of life/environment/economic/disaster modelling applications people are proposing for use to examine environmental impact, project safety and viability. If someone DRMs that software and public policy decisions are made based on it, I would expect it to conflict with public information rights that people have as to whether the information supporting a government decsion was well founded or balanced or even relevant. There is a risk that policy could be made based on modelling applications with nice bling and gui but with ineffective or customised information being output and no access to the logic.

Janet