On Tue, 2007-05-15 at 14:44 -0700, Ada Ho wrote: > Lynn Margulis, the biologist, likes to point out that bacteria freely > exchange their genes in a global network. One could hardly say that bacteria > do this "altruistically" (could a bacterium be altruistic?) Rather, they do > it because it offers a survival advantage - in economic terms, it's a > good/service. > > It's good to know that the human species is catching up to bacteria by means > of the internet and the free software movement. > > So don't dispair when "Free Riders" gripe about what they're getting from > the free software "marketplace". They only do it because they've long since > adapted to being passive, helpless consumers or wards of the state. The > value to the world gained by free software is far greater than that taken > away by "Free Riders". If things don't work perfectly sometimes, it's > because the open "marketplace" is fostering progress - and change. > > en I > see something I think needs to be addressed. > > The way I see it, Free and Open Source Software is a massive act of altruism > > performed by many people for the good of the worldwide community. Users of > FOSS should recognise this fact and be sure to give at least something back > to the community in return, even if it isn't a contribution to the operating > > system they use for free. Many computer users don't have the skills to write > > code or the time available due to family commitments etc to write > documentation, but everybody can find time to go along to, say, a blood > donation session or spend a few hours sometimes helping a charity, thus > putting something back into the community. Thanks for making my point for me Ada, intelligence abounds on this list. That was a great opinion and I'm gonna rip it to my archives! Ric --
