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The ChatGPT/Codex app bundles a full copy of LibreOffice

simonwillison.net

151–160 of 277 posts

Re: The ChatGPT/Codex app bundles a full copy of LibreOffice

#151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

you people are always mixing up the legal thing to do with the right thing to do

Who decides what the right thing to do is? Everyone has different opinions.

Re: The ChatGPT/Codex app bundles a full copy of LibreOffice

#152
post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

you people are always mixing up the legal thing to do with the right thing to do

Surely "the right thing to do" includes some element of the authors' explicitly stated preferences about how they wish to be treated. In this case, they chose -- explicitly -- to NOT require any payment or contribution from anyone. Your feelings about what constitutes "the right thing to do" are apparently different from those of the authors. You believe you know better than they themselves do how they should be trea…

> Surely "the right thing to do" includes some element of the authors' explicitly stated preferences about how they wish to be treated.

It does! And they wish to get donations. There's a button right at the top on the site making that clear.

> In this case, they chose -- explicitly -- to NOT require any payment or contribution from anyone.

Yes, so what? It is true that they wished to not require payment. That is one of their wishes, but they have more than one wish. And if they required payment, that wouldn't be a donation anyway.

Re: The ChatGPT/Codex app bundles a full copy of LibreOffice

#153
post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No requirement doesn't mean "don't be a mensch"

You believe you know better than the authors themselves about how they ought to be treated? They chose -- explicitly, voluntarily, knowingly -- to give the thing away for free. That's their right for their own creation. Your preferences don't supersede theirs.

You've emphasized this point more than once, but I don't think it's a good counterargument to the GP. It is equally valid to say that they have explicitly (voluntarily, knowlingly) chosen to accept donations for their work.

By profiting off their work and not supporting them you are making your own choice. It says nothing about the authors' preference.

Re: The ChatGPT/Codex app bundles a full copy of LibreOffice

#154
post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

you people are always mixing up the legal thing to do with the right thing to do

Surely "the right thing to do" includes some element of the authors' explicitly stated preferences about how they wish to be treated. In this case, they chose -- explicitly -- to NOT require any payment or contribution from anyone. Your feelings about what constitutes "the right thing to do" are apparently different from those of the authors. You believe you know better than they themselves do how they should be trea…

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

> Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize. Assume good faith.

Re: The ChatGPT/Codex app bundles a full copy of LibreOffice

#155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

you people are always mixing up the legal thing to do with the right thing to do

But laws are just encodes morality.

Many of them are, but they're focused on big picture issues and preventing harm. Most of morality has no legal force.

Re: The ChatGPT/Codex app bundles a full copy of LibreOffice

#156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

you people are always mixing up the legal thing to do with the right thing to do

But laws are just encodes morality.

Funny how morality so often benefits incumbents and the powerful.

Re: The ChatGPT/Codex app bundles a full copy of LibreOffice

#157
post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

you people are always mixing up the legal thing to do with the right thing to do

Surely "the right thing to do" includes some element of the authors' explicitly stated preferences about how they wish to be treated. In this case, they chose -- explicitly -- to NOT require any payment or contribution from anyone. Your feelings about what constitutes "the right thing to do" are apparently different from those of the authors. You believe you know better than they themselves do how they should be trea…

They clearly would like donations, but choose not to require any payments.

Your line of reasoning seems to be along the lines of "anything not forbidden is compulsory" which is not a good place. Having the choice to donate but not being required to is good.

And yes, I think that if OpenAI is choosing to include an entire copy of LibreOffice in their product, it is definitely the right thing to do to sling them a donation. Note that the moral thing to do is not always the required thing to do, or even the legal thing to do.

Re: The ChatGPT/Codex app bundles a full copy of LibreOffice

#158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>How much money have you contributed back to this seemingly indispensable project? Perhaps it's time for you to become familiar with the terms of the Mozilla Public License, under which Libre Office is released. There is no requirement for monetary compensation.

No requirement doesn't mean "don't be a mensch"

I don't know what a mensch is but if they wanted to be compensated for their software they should not have released it as Free Software.

Re: The ChatGPT/Codex app bundles a full copy of LibreOffice

#159

The new app is an unbelievable mess. Settings are senselessly organized, too. The whole thing has this aesthetic slickness and then underneath it's like the people who make it have never even used it. It's not surprising that it's pulled in absolutely massive dependencies, although I'm not sure it's the wrong call on some operating systems. LibreOffice is pretty tried and true.

The thing that blows my mind about it is that they straight up copied Claude Code and tried to frame it as some sort of incredible accomplishment. There are no new ideas, no insightful UI/UX paradigms, no killer features. They say money can't buy taste. The ChatGPT/Codex app is proof that it cannot buy creativity either.

Codex, clone Claude Code, make no mistakes they also didn't make.

Re: The ChatGPT/Codex app bundles a full copy of LibreOffice

#160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

you people are always mixing up the legal thing to do with the right thing to do

But laws are just encodes morality.

Absolutely not.

It was illegal to harbour escaped slaves. Or hide Jews from the Gestapo.

Laws have nothing to do with morality. Or justice.

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