The Javascript Trap

#1

Post by rlm » Sun, Mar 22, 2009, 9:31 PM UTC

Re: The Javascript Trap

#2

Post by _cbsz » Sun, Mar 22, 2009, 10:06 PM UTC

Look, dude, web software is often part of a software as a service model. If I let you dig through my JS, you would get the service for free. In short: No.

Re: The Javascript Trap

#3

Post by hank777 » Sun, Mar 22, 2009, 10:13 PM UTC

what a whacko. I should allow you to access my servers and services for free? I should allow you to control how you use my resources in a way that guarantees I loose money? Stallman is a digital socialist. The idea of services (or anything other than direct labor) that people charge for offends him. That offends me.

Re: The Javascript Trap

#4

Post by critic » Sun, Mar 22, 2009, 10:15 PM UTC

hank777 wrote: post #3

what a whacko. I should allow you to access my servers and services for free? I should allow you to control how you use my resources in a way that guarantees I loose money? Stallman is a digital socialist. The idea of services (or anything other than direct labor) that people charge for offends him. That offends me.

"communist"

Re: The Javascript Trap

#5

Post by inklesspen » Sun, Mar 22, 2009, 10:24 PM UTC

hank777 wrote: post #3

what a whacko. I should allow you to access my servers and services for free? I should allow you to control how you use my resources in a way that guarantees I loose money? Stallman is a digital socialist. The idea of services (or anything other than direct labor) that people charge for offends him. That offends me.

I don't see anywhere where he demands free-of-charge access. Stallman supports "free software" where the "free" means that the user's liberty to manipulate the program is preserved.

In Stallman's dream world, you would be free to charge for your service, or put ads up, or whatever you like. But your service would use standardized file formats, and the user would be able to modify the application (both server-side and client-side) to suit his needs.

Re: The Javascript Trap

#6

Post by akie » Sun, Mar 22, 2009, 10:25 PM UTC

Richard Stallman is an extremist. Seriously.

Re: The Javascript Trap

#7

Post by critic » Sun, Mar 22, 2009, 10:27 PM UTC

RMS is complaining about Obfuscript. Speaking of obfuscation, I hope someone would deobfuscate LGPL for me.

Re: The Javascript Trap

#8

Post by jskopek » Sun, Mar 22, 2009, 10:35 PM UTC

inklesspen wrote: post #5

hank777 wrote: post #3

what a whacko. I should allow you to access my servers and services for free? I should allow you to control how you use my resources in a way that guarantees I loose money? Stallman is a digital socialist. The idea of services (or anything other than direct labor) that people charge for offends him. That offends me.

I don't see anywhere where he demands free-of-charge access. Stallman supports "free software" where the "free" means that the user's liberty to manipulate the program is preserved. In Stallman's dream world, you would be free to charge for your service, or put ads up, or whatever you like. But your service would use standardized file formats, and the user would be able to modify the application (both server-side and…

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't the two ideals (being able to charge for your work VS. being able to modify others' work) contradictory?

I have zero experience with Firefox extension development, but everything I _have_ seen about it points at it being very difficult to mirror in a closed source environment.

Re: The Javascript Trap

#9

Post by berntb » Sun, Mar 22, 2009, 10:43 PM UTC

akie wrote: post #6

Richard Stallman is an extremist. Seriously.

rms is arguably not totally in the mainstream -- but the world is a better place because rms is in it just based on emacs, gcc and the GNU (-: no editor war-answers, please. I don't have the time :-).

(Also, note that the guy's opinions and world view have been getting more and more popular.)

Re: The Javascript Trap

#10

Post by patio11 » Sun, Mar 22, 2009, 10:45 PM UTC

hank777 wrote: post #3

what a whacko. I should allow you to access my servers and services for free? I should allow you to control how you use my resources in a way that guarantees I loose money? Stallman is a digital socialist. The idea of services (or anything other than direct labor) that people charge for offends him. That offends me.

The idea of services (or anything other than direct labor) that people charge for offends him.

Actually, no. He is for totally abrogating copyright on works which have "practical use" and for maintaining certain forms of exclusive economic control on entertainment and advocacy.

Essentially, he thinks he should be able to redistribute my software for free, for any purpose whatsoever, but that I should not be able to commercially exploit his speeches or modify them, because that "misrepresents" him.

See:

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Free_Software_and_Beyond:_Huma...

But let's turn to the next category, works that state the views of certain parties. Now here my answer is different, I don't think modified versions of these works contribute to society, all they do is misrepresent the authors. So I propose a compromised copyright system which says that everybody is free non-commercially to redistribute exact copies. But modifications require permission and commercial use require permission. So this compromised copyright system would provide revenues more or less as the current system does.