--- Harshal Patil harshal1234@sify.com wrote:
hi, could anybody explain me what differences the open source & the free software movements have? i mean both of them give the source code, they allow you to modify, redistribute. then why is this quarrel?
ok, i see that today's lecture by RMS has raised a few queries and also replies. i'd like to reply to the above post and also add my 2 cents. let me first start with a disclaimer.
THIS IS PURELY MY UNDERSTANDING AND MY OPINION. YMMV.
first lets look at your question. when you say FSF, i boldly assume what you really mean is GNU/GPL. FSF has several licences, the most important being GPL (as said by RMS today).
Open source says that the piece of code is yours to play with. do whatever the hell you want with it, redistribute it, modify it, nuke japan with it. simple and short and sweet.
GNU/GPL is all of the above, but goes a little further. It says whatever you do with the code, you give it away with the GPL license in tact. In short, you can modify it but cant restrict the modified code with your own non-disclosure contract or whatever the companies restrict propreitory code with. So theres kind of a binding that you cannot take away one's freedom. In other words, where the code goes, freedom goes along with it.
Now with that in place, i would like to put forth my views on RMS's philosophy.
I DONT COMPLETELY AGREE WITH IT! SIMPLE. And here's why...
RMS talks about freedom not only in the context of software, but freedom as a way of life. Freedom to be able to do what we want and not be restricted with licences and laws and whatever else not. And in the same breath, i hear him vehemently saying, requesting, pushing, forcing, psyching people into using only GNU/GPL'ed software. Now is HE giving people freedom to use what they want ? Is that giving people freedom to choose the kind of software they want ?
Besides, if there was one thing I hated, it was bashing MS. Well, i still feel Outlook Express rocks! but thats my opinion. Also my opinion is that its not cool to bash one to prove a point.
Freedom for me is when I can choose what I want. Not when I am presented with just one option and asked to choose !!
I love linux, so great i have been using it. I tried FreeBSD, loved it. Now im using that (too). I may shift to HURD, or OpenBSD or whatever i want. The point is, I exercise MY freedom to choose what I want.
According to RMS, debian is the true GNU/GPL distro, and none else. Well, he is right. but so what ?
The bottomline is, within RMS's framework of freedom, there is NO freedom.
What I did like is his commitment towards GNU/GPL. But then thats about his personal trait.
I say, use whatever you want. thats freedom.
If you do not agree to anything mentioned above, read my disclaimer, and deal !
cheerio, - sagar.
P.S: save your bouquets and brickbats to another occassion, unless its gonna enhance the quality of this thread !
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