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2010: Open or Free?
,----[ Quote ]
| I want to stress once again that originally
| back in 1998, the term âOpen Sourceâ was
| intended as a drop-in replacement for the term
| âFree Softwareâ. I suggest you read that link
| because it makes 3 beautiful points:
|
| 1. The problem was âwith the term âfree
| softwareâ, itself, not the conceptâ.
| 2. It was done in âpragmatic interestâ
| 3. RMS âinitially flirtedâ with the idea,
| but came to reject the term.
|
| As time has passed and we look back I think it
| is very telling how things have played out.
|
| [...]
|
| The acknowledgment that RMS considered the
| terminology switch from âFree Softwareâ to
| âOpen Sourceâ, but came to reject it shows
| remarkable foresight.
|
| It is true indeed that the term âOpen Sourceâ
| may be easier for many business interests to
| adopt, but it also is much easier to dilute.
| If âOpen Sourceâ was intended to be synonymous
| with âFree Softwareâ, where does that put
| âShared Sourceâ, âOpen Coreâ, âOpen Edgeâ and
| other such Fauxpen Source pretenders?
|
| I see a fundamental ironic difference between
| the way RMS considers things and they way his
| most vocal detractors consider things. RMS
| sees that user freedom represents a challenge
| to corporate interests, and so most of them
| will try to find a loop hole or substitute.
| This is a sad, but realistic understanding.
| Contrast this with the loudest anti-Free
| Software proponents who have a wholly
| unrealistic expectation: that companies will
| not twist, distort and undermine user freedom
| at every turn.
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http://www.the-source.com/2010/01/2010-open-or-free/
The GPL Barter Cycle - A Graphic
,----[ Quote ]
| Some imagine that it's unthinkable to, as they
| view it, give away valuable IP for nothing.
| But, first, it's not giving it away, and
| second, it's not for nothing. Nor does pooling
| your code put you out of business. The diagram
| shows a barter process. This is the key word,
| because such contributions of code are
| compensated, but the consideration is not
| money. It is code. You give a little code, and
| you get back a lot more.
|
| When people receive back a complete Linux,
| they have the source code. It lets them make
| changes and adjustments to suit their purposes
| more exactly, and then they can contribute
| those modifications back to the project and
| all the contributions are then able to be
| integrated into the project. This ball keeps
| rolling, and getting bigger, and Linux keeps
| improving. People contribute because they want
| Linux to be available and to improve.
|
| There's a fairness to it, which is why it is
| the most popular FOSS license. And there is a
| purpose, to make a large body of code
| available that anyone can improve and enjoy.
| People build businesses around Linux. Google
| did. Amazon too. It's great for startups, as
| Mark Shuttleworth has explained. He built a
| profitable business, Thawte, using FOSS code.
`----
http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20100104232525390
Recent:
Editor's Note: Linux/FOSS and Politics Go Together Like Cheese and Crackers
,----[ Quote ]
| Free/Libre software itself is political. The GPL is called a copyleft
| license, which is wordplay on copyright. It is a clever use of existing
| copyright laws to protect software freedom, and copyleft has expanded to
| include a number of creative works, such as books, articles, photos and other
| images, movies, and music. Which is in direct opposition to the fierce
| attacks on existing copyright law, especially the insanely over-the-top
| attempts at exterminating fair use, and turning minor copyright violations
| into crimes of the century.
|
| [...]
|
| So there are a few examples of important political issues that Linux/FOSS
| users can address and influence knowledgably. It doesn't matter who is in
| whatever elected office, or what party they belong to, because these issues
| affect everyone. Our elected persons are hearing mostly one side of the
| story, and that is the side that gets rich off corruption and abuse. They
| need to hear from the good guys, too.
`----
http://www.linuxtoday.com/news_story.php3?ltsn=2008-11-08-010-35-OP-CY
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