On Fri, 2006-16-06 at 20:34 -0700, jdow wrote: > I do NOT like communist drips like RMS dictating what *I* can do with > my machine. I like even less the intrusive nature of his license such > that it can intrude upon my personal life and work. RMS is neither a drip, nor a communist. He simply has a set of honest beliefs that he is not willing to compromise for anything, or anyone. When he sees he must defend those rights, he does so with all his intellectual might. RMS is a good man. I don't understand why it's so popular in recent times to immediately single out and call someone a communist or terrorist when he or she stands up for his or her beliefs. If it hasn't occurred to you already, I'm talking about beliefs that don't harm other human beings. And, no, the GPL doesn't harm human beings. It does, however, harm the traditional software company. They are pissed. They're REALLY, REALLY, pissed. I can appreciate what you and others like you are trying to do, though. Since the F/OSS world is a community, what better way is there to mortally wound, or even destroy it, than by getting its members to turn in on themselves? Everything would just implode. Constant bickering, fighting, projects falling away because everyone involved is bitter, angry, resentful, and tired. The "evil" that is people enjoying working together towards a common, shared goal, would be greatly diminished. It would never be the same. jdow is confounding. But, Les really has me going for a loop. The guy uses GPL software left, right, and centre, but is constantly crying about the GPL license. I can think of but only one reason why he and others like him are so upset: all this glorious, brilliant code meandering its way through cyberspace, curing problems just about everywhere it goes, can't be incorporated into their closed source products. The travesty! The horror! Money and power oh so close, but for that damned GPL, may as well be light years away. A bit dramatic, but accurate, in my opinion. It's not over the top. These guys are pissed. They are REALLY, REALLY pissed. I run into this all the time. For example, I know for a FACT that sales guys at every proprietary telecom company is running to all potential customers with the words "Asterisk is free, it can't be good, don't use it." These guys are pissed. They are REALLY, REALLY pissed. What's worse is they're also very scared. Scared people do evil things. The F/OSS community better be careful. Regards, Ranbir -- Kanwar Ranbir Sandhu Linux 2.6.16-1.2111_FC4 i686 GNU/Linux 00:51:34 up 15:04, 3 users, load average: 0.27, 0.20, 0.25
