multimedia licensing

Christofer C. Bell christofer.c.bell at gmail.com
Tue Apr 19 15:45:34 UTC 2005


On 4/18/05, kwhiskers <kwhiskers at gmail.com> wrote:
> I am glad to hear that the GPL can act as a kind of safeguard for keeping
> Linux free. I am definitely sold on the idea of free software, free books,
> free art, free music, etc, to permit everyone access to electronic media
> without disenfranchisement based on income or lack of financial resources.

While I'm very pleased at your enthusiasm, I'll must point out that
this misses the point of what Free software is all about.  While
disenfranchisement for financial reasons is a very small part of the
picture, developer freedom is the "main event."  You may find this
treatise by Richard M. Stallman an interesting read:

Why Software Should Be Free:
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/shouldbefree.html

The point of the Freedom is the Freedom to create, adapt, and innovate
software.  In fact, by GNU's philosophy, one is encouraged to find
ways to make money using Free software.  The Free Software Foundation
does just that:

Order from the Free Software Foundation (FSF):
https://agia.fsf.org/order/

And as you can see, the prices aren't really feasable for the average
end user.  They're selling the software and documentation, and
providing a convenient means for folks to donate to their cause.

-- 
Chris

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