Do we need to rethink what free software is?

#1

Post by reddotX » Sat, Sep 28, 2019, 2:01 PM UTC

Do we need to rethink what free software is?
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Re: Do we need to rethink what free software is?

#2

Post by Ace17 » Sat, Sep 28, 2019, 2:33 PM UTC

Feel free to create the "moral/ethical software" movement, but please don't touch the current definition of free software.

People already have a hard time understanding what free software exactly is/requires/provides. Changing the definition at this point would only create confusion, especially if the new one is even more ethically grounded.

Re: Do we need to rethink what free software is?

#3

Post by eitland » Sat, Sep 28, 2019, 2:34 PM UTC

> As stewards of the free software definition, the Free Software Foundation should be taking the lead in ensuring that these issues are discussed.

They came to a consensus yeeeears ago about what can and cannot go into Free Software licenses.

I'm all for more fairness, but remember that for example the GPL is a giant legal hack, and maybe the next breakthrough will be an equally big legal and/of technical hack and not necessarily an attempt to amend other free licenses?

Edit: seeing how things play out in the US and Canada I'm even more sure than before that politics should be kept far out of tech.

Re: Do we need to rethink what free software is?

#4

Post by breck » Sat, Sep 28, 2019, 2:39 PM UTC

The solution here is simple: abandon intellectual slavery laws. They don’t do anyone any good except the 1%. Look at the richest amongst us, a sizable majority are rich because of IS laws. Forcing poor people the world over to pay artificially high prices for intellectual goods, by threat of force, is a form of slavery, poor and simple. Anyone who says they will stop making new ideas if they don’t get artificially inflated remuneration for that: good riddance! We don’t need talentless hacks like them.

Re: Do we need to rethink what free software is?

#5

Post by skybrian » Sat, Sep 28, 2019, 2:39 PM UTC

I don't know about free software, but I suspect there will still be a lot of people releasing code under open source licenses, including most developers working for companies.

Maybe there should be a standard license for non-commercial source code, but that could be called a "source available" license.

Re: Do we need to rethink what free software is?

#6

Post by pessimizer » Sat, Sep 28, 2019, 2:41 PM UTC

Ace17 wrote: post #2

Feel free to create the "moral/ethical software" movement, but please don't touch the current definition of free software. People already have a hard time understanding what free software exactly is/requires/provides. Changing the definition at this point would only create confusion, especially if the new one is even more ethically grounded.

Agree. I think the strength of free software is that it's making a single ethical point (which is hard enough to get across.) I support anybody wanting to make "ethical" software, but it's 1) not the same thing as free software and 2) very difficult to make an ethical tool; people find it hard enough to explain their personal ethical distinctions, I definitely don't want to listen to a some hammer's idiosyncratic belief system.

Re: Do we need to rethink what free software is?

#7

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Sep 28, 2019, 2:42 PM UTC

[deleted]

Re: Do we need to rethink what free software is?

#8

Post by baybal2 » Sat, Sep 28, 2019, 2:42 PM UTC

The answer is simple A-GPL

Re: Do we need to rethink what free software is?

#9

Post by pessimizer » Sat, Sep 28, 2019, 2:42 PM UTC

breck wrote: post #4

The solution here is simple: abandon intellectual slavery laws. They don’t do anyone any good except the 1%. Look at the richest amongst us, a sizable majority are rich because of IS laws. Forcing poor people the world over to pay artificially high prices for intellectual goods, by threat of force, is a form of slavery, poor and simple. Anyone who says they will stop making new ideas if they don’t get artificially in…

World socialist revolution is far from simple.

Re: Do we need to rethink what free software is?

#10

Post by amelius » Sat, Sep 28, 2019, 2:45 PM UTC

eitland wrote: post #3

> As stewards of the free software definition, the Free Software Foundation should be taking the lead in ensuring that these issues are discussed. They came to a consensus yeeeears ago about what can and cannot go into Free Software licenses. I'm all for more fairness, but remember that for example the GPL is a giant legal hack, and maybe the next breakthrough will be an equally big legal and/of technical hack and no…

> but remember that for example the GPL is a giant legal hack

Tax avoidance schemes are also legal hacks. If you can (ab)use something for bad things, then you should be able to (ab)use it for good things as well, yes?

EDITED