Path: utzoo!telly!ddsw1!lll-winken!uunet!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!WHEATIES.AI.MIT.EDU!rms
From: rms@WHEATIES.AI.MIT.EDU (Richard Stallman)
Newsgroups: gnu.gcc
Subject: What is the poison in the Apple?
Message-ID: <8903281812.AA00242@sugar-bombs.ai.mit.edu>
Date: 28 Mar 89 18:12:02 GMT
Sender: daemon@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu
Distribution: gnu
Organization: GNUs Not Usenet
Lines: 26

Several people have asked me what Apple is doing that endangers the
GNU project and free software in general.  I think there may be enough
people who don't know the answer that it is worth telling all of you.

Software companies typically hoard software they write.  I disapprove
of this, but once I write a GNU replacement, they don't hurt me (or
GNU users) any more.

Apple, Lotus and a few others have gone beyond hoarding software; they
are suing companies for independent development of compatible
replacement programs--the same sort of thing that I am doing in GNU.

If they win these suits, they will be able to crush free replacements
along with proprietary replacements.  And if this becomes accepted
practice, most other companies will doubtless join in, even though
they are not now among those trying to establish the new monopolies.
Then free software would be limited to things that software did before
1980, for around 70 more years: till long after I am dead.  I could
continue writing free software for the rest of the world, but
Americans would not get the benefit of it.

This is why I consider it so important to fight Apple in whatever way
I can--such as, by not supporting A/UX.  Therefore, instead of helping
A/UX users by working on supporting A/UX, I choose to help some other
users by working on something else.  Supporting a system takes more
work than you might think.