OSNews is Exploring the Future of Computing

Linked by Thom Holwerda on Tue 24th Mar 2009 09:58 UTC, submitted by google_ninja

Richard Stallman, frontman of the Free Software Foundation, has shifted his attention towards web applications. "In the free software community, the idea that non-free programs mistreat their users is familiar. Some of us refuse entirely to install proprietary software, and many others consider non-freedom a strike against the program. Many users are aware that this issue applies to the plug-ins that browsers offer to install, since they can be free or non-free. But browsers run other non-free programs which they don't ask you about or even tell you aboutâ"programs that web pages contain or link to. These programs are most often written in Javascript, though other languages are also used."

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RE[3]: A no-issue problem

by da_Chicken on Tue 24th Mar 2009 13:49 UTC in reply to "RE[2]: A no-issue problem"

Member since:
2006-01-01

Turn down the FUD, please. In this article RMS specifically addresses the client-side programs of "web applications" (that are silently downloaded into your computer). He clearly says that the server-side software of "web applications" is a completely different issue:

Silently loading and running non-free programs is one among several issues raised by "web applications". The term "web application" was designed to disregard the fundamental distinction between software delivered to users and software running on the server. It can refer to a specialized client program running in a browser; it can refer to specialized server software; it can refer to a specialized client program that works hand in hand with specialized server software. The client and server sides raise different ethical issues, even if they are so closely integrated that they arguably form parts of a single program. This article addresses only the issue of the client-side software. We are addressing the server issue separately.

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