Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!texbell!splut!jay From: jay@splut.conmicro.com (Jay "you ignorant splut!" Maynard) Newsgroups: comp.sources.d Subject: Re: What does "free" mean, eh? (Re: Scareware and philanthropy) Message-ID: <.CV+G0H@splut.conmicro.com> Date: 18 Mar 90 16:19:30 GMT References: <1142@mtxinu.UUCP> <306@isgtec.UUCP> <852.25ff8253@ccvax.ucd.ie> Reply-To: jay@splut.conmicro.com (Jay "you ignorant splut!" Maynard) Organization: Confederate Microsystems, League City, TX Lines: 35 In article <852.25ff8253@ccvax.ucd.ie> b_haughey@ccvax.ucd.ie (Brian J Haughey) writes: >In article <306@isgtec.UUCP>, robert@isgtec.UUCP (Robert A. Osborne) writes: >> Only shareware has restrictions on how YOU personally use it. >> Only freeware has NO restrictions. >> Only FSFware is a snare to get you to donate your work to FSF. >It bothers me, too when people refer to GNU software copyleft disparagingly >as a "snare". The simple answer is - you don't like GNU software because >the FSF won't let you make money from what was ultimately other people's >work. Okay, so you modified it. Big deal - if you made such extensive >changes, and feel the need for some profit from that, why use any GNU >source code in the first place ? [I'm not referring to Rob here] The FSF won't let me distribute MY work freely if it includes a small part of their work. They require me to include the whole of my work under their terms. The whole of my program falls under their license just because I (possibly unknowingly) used their getopt routine, for example. I'm not interested in making money from their code. I don't believe they should be able to force me to support their utopia, either. >People misunderstand the purpose of the FSF - it exists so that ordinary >users can have the benefit of decent software (often better than commerecial >products) at a nominal cost. People like you obviously don't appreciate >this principle. Fine. But don't attack the FSF because of it. Go read the GNU Manifesto again. The FSF exists to make Stallman's utopia a reality. He's welcome to the idea, but don't force me into the same mold. -- Jay Maynard, EMT-P, K5ZC, PP-ASEL | Never ascribe to malice that which can jay@splut.conmicro.com (eieio)| adequately be explained by stupidity. attctc, RIP. It was nice knowing ya +---------------------------------------- "Klein bottle for sale. Inquire within." - Charles Hannum