[tlug] Free versus open: a rant [was some thread about VoIP/GnomeMeeting]

["Stephen J. Turnbull" <stephen@example.com>]

>>>>> "Botond" == Botond Botyanszki <tlug@example.com> writes:

    >> Tell me it ain't so.  The whole point of _GNU_NOME was to hold
    >> the line against such backsliding by KDE and Qt!  Surely there
    >> are alternative codecs?

    Botond> Just because you couldn't come up with a
    Botond> M-X-make-voip-call you should not start bashing gnome.

Who bashed?  Somebody implied such a dependency, I asked a question
which if answered positively would settle the issue, it was answered
(after the post you're quoting, may I point out) in the negative.
Read what you quote, for heaven's sake!

True, I am not a GNOME fan; watching a sawfish upgrade balloon my /usr
by 250MB because I installed an additional module that happened to
depend on GNOME made me feel like I was installing The OS That Claims
That The Web Browser Is A Kernel Trap.  But that's a different thread.

    Botond> Free software is about choices

No.  In this context (GNOME), GNU == FSF defines "Free Software".

In that context, Open Source Software is about choice (see, for
example, Bruce Perens's site http://www.sincerechoice.org/).  Free
Software is about taking away a certain amount of choice.  (Cf GPL
vs. BSD licensing, and the FSF's comment about SincereChoice.org at
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/philosophy.html#ThirdPartyIdeas.)  It is
about restricting certain kinds of freedom, namely freedom of
contract, in the name of promoting the freedom to "share", the
critical aspect of which is defined as giving away what you didn't
produce yourself.  (Sharing is only constrained by IP if you didn't
produce the whole work yourself.)

Now, as things stand, Free Software Fanaticism is a GoodThang[tm].
Without it, we wouldn't have GNU/Linux (or Linux itself, which
depended on GCC from the first), we might not yet have BSD distros
either, etc, and it's quite possible that the DMCA, software patents,
etc, would by now have made a free software OS impossible without the
more liberal (in both senses) movement that formed around the FSF
nucleus.  But, as with ice cream, there are limits to how much of a
good thing you want in one dose.  I like some of the lunatics in the
fringe, I don't like some of them, but either way, I'm glad it's a
fringe.

There is another problem, here, which is the degradation of the GNU
brand name.  Perhaps you aren't aware of it, but there are a number of
people (some of whom are very well-informed, though I don't know any
actual lawyers among them) who argue that the only free software that
is safe from SCO-style extortion and other such problems is (FSF-
assigned) GNU software.  Optional or not, if GnomeMeeting really is
dependent on patented algorithms that are not available under a free
license, you can no longer trust the GNU label; you have to read the
fine print of every GNU product's license to find out whether you've
put your finger in a vise or not.

It's a question that needs to be asked, whether you like GNOME or not.

    Botond> There are many other libraries and progs that can use
    Botond> patented algorithms (I'm sure you are using openssl
    Botond> too...)

I make my own choices; I use patented/otherwise proprietary stuff
whenever it suits me (or the blithering idiots I work for).  But from
the FSF point of view, "can use patented" is irrelevant; it's "can't
be implemented freely" that needs to be rebutted.

    Botond> and in GnomeMeeting you surely can choose what codec you
    Botond> want to use (yes, there are alternatives).

Shawn says the opposite.  And posts an URL.  URL, please.

    Botond> Because and additional patented codec is available if you
    Botond> pay money (for the hardware or the impl), this doesn't
    Botond> make it any worse IMHO.

Good for you!  However, rms, the FSF, and _the GNU Project_ _do_ think
that makes it worse.  rms has compared purchasing proprietary software
to selling yourself into slavery![1]

Know your enemies, they say, but sometimes it's just as important to
know your friends.



Footnotes: 
[1]  You should be able to find such an url with a google search on
"rms slavery proprietary", if not, I'll try to dig it up.

-- 
Institute of Policy and Planning Sciences     http://turnbull.sk.tsukuba.ac.jp
University of Tsukuba                    Tennodai 1-1-1 Tsukuba 305-8573 JAPAN
               Ask not how you can "do" free software business;
              ask what your business can "do for" free software.