Oh boy. I guess if you have steadfast beliefs to the point that you can no longer keep yourself from sharing those every time you turn around, you become a philosopher.
RMS doesn't have a problem with software. He has a problem with capitalism. Stallman's approach to software is one to which I don't subscribe. Software is not something I see as needing liberation, like those of oppressed individuals in a society.
Oh, don't get me wrong, I would love to avoid some of the proprietary black boxes that I have to deal with in my job. However, I knew the situation going into it. Many times, I've not had the option of avoiding a black box.
That's a customer service and/or product problem, not an industry problem. If it's a problem that actually impedes innovation, I have a solution -- it's called the free market. We've never been in a better position to provide software solutions to problems not addressed by the market, and we can charge for them, give them away, do whatever we want. There is nothing holding us back in this scenario.
I find ironic his insistence that I cannot control software I create -- because no one should be allowed to control software -- is, in and of itself, controlling.
>I find ironic his insistence that I cannot control software I create -- because no one should be allowed to control software -- is, in and of itself, controlling.
Not really. Stallman is actually making a very libertarian point when he insists that users have the right to modify and redistribute software. He's saying, in essence, "Your rights end, where mine begin." To Stallman, every user has the right to modify and redistribute software, just like they have the right to modify and resell any other tool they use. As a software developer, you don't have the right to take away a user's software because they modify and resell it.
> To Stallman, every user has the right to modify and redistribute software, just like they have the right to modify and resell any other tool they use.
I guess we should then be permitted to modify and resell a book, a movie, or anything else that's the output of one's thoughts?
If that's where the argument ended, I would simply say "well ok" and move on, but Stallman goes beyond that. He wants to dictate what terms I would put around any application I provide as a product, simply because it's in the realm of software. As if software is this magical land where I have no say in anything I produce.
Framing this industry as somehow different based on a simplistic parallel of hard goods = soft goods is disingenuous.
Very well put and I'd like to add to that but before I do I'd just like to say that I don't get why you were downvoted. This is such a well reasoned, on-topic comment and it deserves more discussion. It seems any time there's a post on RMS all of his supporters jump on the thread and I,mediate ly and relentlessly downvote anything that doesn't correspond to their worldview no matter how relevant or rational it is.
That speaks to the larger issue you touched on about Stallman and the FSF. They like to talk about control but don't see how they're being controlling. It's as if because Stallmam believes he's doing something "for the good of the people" it's okay to further his cause by any means necessary. I'm hesitant to say this but it kind of reminds me of Malcolm X. Malcolm X was a very well intentioned man and his cause was a just one. The only problem was that he went to extremes, glossed over the gray areas, and refused to accept any other view no matter how good a point the other side made.
You can be a supporter of free software while still supporting proprietary software. What Stallman is arguing for takes control out of the hands of the creators and gives it not to the people but the FSF. It's like Stalinist Russia except for software. For the good of the people everyone should own your work.
Stallman's views make some assumptions that are unacceptable.
1. He assumes people want to be able to modify the applications they use. Not so. In fact, most people I'd argue acquire software so they don't have to write code. I don't download a text editor because I want to extend it. I do it because it helps me get something else done. I choose the software that meets my needs. If I wanted to toy with source code I'd build my own IDE, compiler, etc and start everything from scratch.
2. It assumes everyone is, wants to be, or should be a programmer. What use is the source code if it looks like gibberish to you? This view glosses over the fact that the majority of users don't give one iota of a shit about programming. They just want to watch YouTube or write their English class essay.
3. It assumes that anything closed source must have something sneaky within it. Okay, so there's spyware and back doors in a lot of proprietary software. That doesn't mean the guy that doesn't release the source of his text editor (I'm thinking of my new favorite editor, Chocolate for Mac) is spying on you or doing anything malicious at all.
4. It assumes that anyone who supports, uses, or develops free software is on the honor system and would never do anything unethical. I think the part where he suggests that free software can be charged for is laughable. If you release anything under GPL you can be reasonably sure someone will take your source and give away some free version of your program or even derive something else and make money off your hard work. Red Hat Linux is not a good rebuttal of this point. Most software, especially from indie devs, doesn't lend itself to the Red Hat business model well at all.
Programming is a very valuable skill and the creators of great software deserve to choose how they license and distribute that software. Stallman wants to take choice away from one group and give it to, well, no one really. I'd argue we have choice now. I want to be able to choose proprietary software if it meets my needs and I want to be able to not only charge people for my work but make sure they cannot turn around and undermine my efforts by deriving or giving away my work. That's very reasonable. I love free software and use it often but I can't say there's anything evil about it. There's this sense of entitlement to Stallman's message that I don't like too.
Oh boy. I guess if you have steadfast beliefs to the point that you can no longer keep yourself from sharing those every time you turn around, you become a philosopher.
RMS doesn't have a problem with software. He has a problem with capitalism. Stallman's approach to software is one to which I don't subscribe. Software is not something I see as needing liberation, like those of oppressed individuals in a society.
Oh, don't get me wrong, I would love to avoid some of the proprietary black boxes that I have to deal with in my job. However, I knew the situation going into it. Many times, I've not had the option of avoiding a black box.
That's a customer service and/or product problem, not an industry problem. If it's a problem that actually impedes innovation, I have a solution -- it's called the free market. We've never been in a better position to provide software solutions to problems not addressed by the market, and we can charge for them, give them away, do whatever we want. There is nothing holding us back in this scenario.
I find ironic his insistence that I cannot control software I create -- because no one should be allowed to control software -- is, in and of itself, controlling.