Post by Hyman RosenPost by RjackEgad!! I thought *freedom* for software developers meant
licensing their software any way they wished. I didn't know it
was the GPL or the highway.
This is absolutely correct. Freedom for software developers means
that they may license their software any way they wish. The FSF
promotes freedom for users, however, not software developers, and
the freedom of users is adversely affected when software
developers choose non-free licenses.
Why don't you write the editors of these publishers:
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and explain to them that their definition of "freedom" is wrong.
Perhaps after they change their definition to suit Stallman's
philosophy you'll have a better chance of making all of us ardent
socialists.
Post by Hyman RosenPost by RjackYour link to the self-serving rant by Richard Stallman does
nothing but confirm his monomanical compulsion to destroy the
concept of intellectual property.
Stallman believes that users of software should have the freedom
to run, read, modify, and share it.
My God! However did society ever manage before Stallman came along?
We're so grateful he's saving us from ourselves.
Post by Hyman RosenIn the case of X Window, for a very long time its users had those
freedoms, but they could have been lost because the organization
primarily responsible for it had the legal right to do so.
Therefore, he urges that free software developers use the GPL to
prevent situations like this from occurring.
Notice that the FSF does nothing at all
Except file bogus lawsuits in attempts to intimidate folks into
believing the GPL is an enforceable legal contract.
Post by Hyman Rosento prevent software developers from doing anything they wish, as
long as they do not involve themselves with GPLed code. They
operate by presenting attractive alternatives so that developers
of non-free software are disadvantaged in the marketplace by
having to duplicate functionality that is available for free to
free software developers.
To the extent that this upsets you, they are succeeding.
Upset? I don't have to file bogus copyright lawsuits to concisely
express my views. That fact leaves me at peace.
Sincerely,
Rjack :)