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

What free software means to me

Author:Eric Kidd
Posted:8/20/2000; 12:10:45 PM
Topic:A History of "Open Source"
Msg #:19854 (In response to 19849)
Prev/Next:19853 / 19855

In the 'free speech' analogy, this would mean 'you can write any software you want'. I don't think that's what free software is about (well, that too, but not mainly).

Free software means different things to different people. To me, it means that I give my users certain rights:

The following ability, though, is a side-effect of the rights above. I'm not entirely happy about this ability, but I accept it as a consequence of my other beliefs:

I could take this ability away from my users, but I'd loose too many other things in the process, things that I value deeply. So instead of taking this ability away, I look for alternative ways to make money.

Obviously, other software developers won't feel the same way I do. Please, everybody, respect their wishes.

Napster

And I don't believe that free software necessarily applies to musicians and writers, either. I'm strongly opposed to Napster, because it took an important decision out of the musicians' hands. That wasn't a very respectful thing to do.

If Napster wanted users to copy music, they should have followed Stallman's example. They could have started a "Free Music Foundation", found musicians who felt the same way, and produced their own music for users to share. The Grateful Dead (and perhaps Eve 6) would have been on their side.

As a software developer, I have no right to tell musicians and authors how they should make a living. And quite frankly, authors who aren't programmers have no business telling me how to make a living, either. ;-)

Cheers,
Eric

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