Archive of UserLand's first discussion group, started October 5, 1998.

Re: "Open" vs. "Closed"

Author:Phillip Birmingham
Posted:5/13/2000; 12:38:07 AM
Topic:"Open" vs. "Closed"
Msg #:17261 (In response to 17155)
Prev/Next:17260 / 17262

"How about forgetting the lines in the sand."

People draw these lines because the distinction is important to them.

Whenever I get a juicy tidbit of news, I want to know if I can share it with my friends; it's the same with a neat piece of software. There is value in being able to share -- all other things being equal, I'd prefer getting sharable software to non-sharable. "Open" software can be shared without risking its author's wrath; "closed" software cannot. To ask people not to use labels for this is to ask them not to care -- that's asking a bit much in my opinion.

This isn't to say that the "closed" guys should be made to feel bad that they've chosen not to allow their creations to be shared this way; they are *their* creations, after all. However, they've chosen not to extend a right that the "open" folks extend; this distinction is valuable to many, and (I suspect) impossible to express in a way that sounds non-perjorative to all.

Later, Phillip

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