Richard Stallman Was Right All Along
Linked by Thom Holwerda on Mon 2nd Jan 2012 19:12 UTC
GNU, GPL, Open Source Late last year, president Obama signed a law that makes it possible to indefinitely detain terrorist suspects without any form of trial or due process. Peaceful protesters in Occupy movements all over the world have been labelled as terrorists by the authorities. Initiatives like SOPA promote diligent monitoring of communication channels. Thirty years ago, when Richard Stallman launched the GNU project, and during the three decades that followed, his sometimes extreme views and peculiar antics were ridiculed and disregarded as paranoia - but here we are, 2012, and his once paranoid what-ifs have become reality.
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M.Onty
Member since:
2009-10-23

There are others way to support Free and open software, other than using it (which sometimes isn't an option). This "use it or sod off" attitude really isn't helping Free/open source software.

What helps is educating people about the pros and cons, and then let them decide for themselves. Don't force them. Don't feel morally superior or insult them. It's not their fault they're using the software they like or are accustumed with, so don't act like it is.

The best future is one where Free/open source software and proprietary software push each other to excel, for the benefit of all. We don't need an all-FOSS world; we simply need a world where FOSS is competitive and seen as a real competitor in as many fields as possible - forcing proprietary vendors to be on edge.


This is appears to be a more nuanced view than that expressed in the article itself. I would recommend appending something of the sort to the article for clarity.

Reply Parent Score: 2

Thom_Holwerda Member since:
2005-06-29

This is appears to be a more nuanced view than that expressed in the article itself. I would recommend appending something of the sort to the article for clarity.


Actually, it isn't.

"This is why you should support Android (not Google, but Android), even if you prefer the iPhone. This is why you should support Linux, even if you use Windows. This is why you should support Apache, even if you run IIS."

Pretty much the same thing.

Reply Parent Score: 1

M.Onty Member since:
2009-10-23

I don't quite see that, but OK. In either case that's an interesting piece you wrote. I wonder if it would be an idea to link to that video directly as there are a lot of extremely interesting points made.

Reply Parent Score: 1