Date: Sun, 7 Jan 2001 00:18:46 -0800 From: Jonas Luster <loki@smurftarget.net> To: freebsd-hackers@FreeBSD.org Subject: Re: ONTOPIC - FreeBSD vs Linux, Solaris, and NT - Not a bunch of licence Jihad crap Message-ID: <20010107001846.A42548@netwarriors.org> In-Reply-To: <001801c0786c$e5d55b60$aa240018@cx443070b>; from jgowdy@home.com on Sat, Jan 06, 2001 at 09:44:20PM -0800 References: <200101070509.f0759uw74992@green.dyndns.org> <001801c0786c$e5d55b60$aa240018@cx443070b>
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-- 06/01/01 21:44 -0800 - Jeremiah Gowdy <Re: ONTOPIC - FreeBSD vs Linux, Solaris, and NT - Not a bunch of licence Jihad crap>: > Claiming that software isn't "free" because it's not valuable is redefining > the word "free" to mean something that has no cost, yet has value. > > free (fr) adj. Costing nothing; gratuitous: Yeah, and 'gay' means 'joyful'. > The word has absolutely nothing to do with your value judgements. Useful != > Free. No cost == Free. So, how much money will 'Free Tibet' charge you for a country? Now, I am not a native english speaker and even I have realized that 'free' means a bit more than just 'free beer' in the english language. > software, and that's a pretty damned closed minded point of view. I've > written hundreds of DOS and Windows applications, which are FREE, although I > didn't include the source code with them. Your massive generalization that So they are 'free' to modify, 'free' to distribute, 'free' to look into? Maybe I'm missing something here, but despite not being an English major, I seem to recognize the word 'free' in 'freedom'. What does a programmer gain from mislabeling his products? Freeware != free software, not just because 'free' is more than just 'free beer'. > you can't start redefining words like "free" to push your rabid open source > agenda. The people of the past who contributed their software to the scene > in the form of public domain, freeware, and shareware were writing code in > the same spirit as those of us who write open source code today. So why No. While (with the exception of 'Shareware' to a certain point), Freeware is a gift, 'free software' is more than that. It is a 'call to participate', to 'evaluate', to learn. One cannot learn much from closed source, no matter how much the author charges for its use. 'Free', for me and for a lot of people out there, means my freedom to extend my horizon by looking inside the program. My freedom to enhance and contribute, my freedom to borrow and my freedom to give. This is freedom, this is what 'free software' is all about. Not just a gift from one programmer to his/her users, it's much more. Even pay-ware with open source gives me that freedom. One of the most misinterpreted sentences in '90 is "Information wants to be free". This is not about money, it's about freedom. > don't you get off your goddamned high horse and stop belittling the "free" > software for other platforms simply because it doesn't comply with your open > source jihad bullshit. Whohoho, insults? Well, I guess it's what has to follow if arguments are amiss. I guess this is a thread that should not be here and I apologize for adding my $0.02 to it, even though I know it's wrong, but I am one of these 'open source jihad bullshit assholes' and I don't like it if someone belittles the efforts of my fellow coders out there. jonas -- http://www.advogato.org/person/jLoki To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-hackers" in the body of the message
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