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Date:      Sat, 13 May 2000 17:48:29 -0700
From:      Arun Sharma <adsharma@sharmas.dhs.org>
To:        freebsd-chat@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: Why are people against GNU? WAS Re: 5.0 already?
Message-ID:  <200005140048.RAA17160@sharmas.dhs.org>
In-Reply-To: <20000514035957.J22405@physics.iisc.ernet.in>
References:  <391D71FE.1570F551@asme.org> <Pine.BSF.4.10.10005130735370.20100-100000@hydrant.intranova.net> <391D4DAD.FD80980A@picusnet.com> <003b01bfbcdc$6059fb40$a164aad0@kickme> <391D71FE.1570F551@asme.org> <20000513205610.A22103@physics.iisc.ernet.in> <3.0.6.32.20000513143506.00895650@mail85.pair.com> <20000514010614.A16058@happy.checkpoint.com> <20000514035957.J22405@physics.iisc.ernet.in>

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In muc.lists.freebsd.chat, you wrote:
> Very well stated.
> In fact, Stallman's central point (which he makes repeatedly) is that
> the US copyright law was intended to benefit the public, not the
> authors.  Benefits to authors are only an inducement, not a reward.
> He has no problems with such restrictions as long as they benefit the
> public; his case is that, with today's extended copyright periods and
> new laws and media, they have ceased to do so, and in the case of
> software, restrictions on copying benefit nobody.  

Not true. It benefits Microsoft.

> Read, for example,
>      http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/reevaluating-copyright.html
> You may or may not agree. But I don't see how anyone can read it
> carefully and seriously call Stallman a communist.

My reading of all his writings is that software is fundamentally different
from all the other materials that get sold in the market. I think a 
majority of people don't believe in that argument. Moreover, what "can"
and "should" be sold is not a theoretical decision. In a capitalistic
society, what can be sold, will be sold.

	-Arun


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