tlug: Re: TLUG List Administrator position and duties turned over to JonathanQ today.

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

Moved to "main", where this kind of talk belongs.

If you haven't seen the rest of the thread, you might want to take a
gander at the tlug-admin archives.

On Wed, 12 Apr 2000, Austin Kurahone wrote:

    >> <RANT>
    >> Ok, this has been a sore subject with me for a while.  Free
    >> Software Zealots.  Arrrrgh.  Please try to have a open mind
    >> people (and aliens if any are present)!  Just cuz you have to
    >> pay for it it doen't make it evil...
    >> </RANT>

>>>>> "jb" == Jonathan Q <jq@example.com> writes:

    jb> Methinks you are confusing free beer and free speech.

Ooooooh.  A low blow.

    jb> Even RMS does not sit in criticism of that.  Indeed, he
    jb> endorses business models that make money with GPLed software.

But only in theory.  Every important FSB I know of has come in for
(usually harsh) criticism from rms.  (Admittedly, that didn't stop him
from appointing Cygnus personnel as GNU maintainers of the centerpiece
of the GNU system, gcc, binutils, and glibc.)

<ASIDE>
    jb> software.  TeX is a very technically solid solution, but until
    jb> it gets something like FrameMaker wrapped around it, it will
    jb> always remain the tool of a select few.

Just you wait until Omega gets loose in the world.  I have seen the
future and it _rocks_!  It's still TeX, but oh boy!
</ASIDE>

>>>>> "Austin" == Austin Kurahone <austin@example.com> writes:

    Austin> Sigh, I guess I should have been more specific.  I was
    Austin> trying to say proprietary software (Yes even Operating
    Austin> Systems *shock*).  Oh well.  I know why open solutions are
    Austin> cool, I'd rather that BeOS came with full source, but then
    Austin> again can't get everything.  I wasn't trying to imply that
    Austin> we sould move our focus to non-free (as in speech) stuff
    Austin> BTW.

Well, you may be surprised to hear this, kid ("smile when you say
that!"), but about the time you were conceived a certain Richard
M. Stallman was dreaming of a world in which everybody could talk
about any software they wanted to in as much detail as they wanted
to---including their own, which unfortunately was paid for by their
employers.

The thing is, if a Linux developer is subscribed to TLUG, and a
Solaris developer should happen to post some code related to the Linux
guy's work from Solaris, the Linux guy will have to stop working on
his code.  At least that's the considered opinion of the lawyers that
the only guy I know of who has actually asked lawyers asked.  And vice
versa, although I think it would be hard to get a subpoena for Sun's
code on the basis that a Sun employee was subscribed to a Linux M/L....

Crazy?  Sure.  But it's a plausible interpretation of the law and the
court cases (according to rms, who is definitely a FUD factory---but
not withstanding, he _did_ ask the lawyers).  rms's way may not be
"the RightThang[tm]", I certainly don't think so.  Still, I ask you to
consider that your outrage, my outrage, and his outrage all stem from
the same source.

"Fanaticism in the defense of virtue is no vice."

-- 
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Institute of Policy and Planning Sciences       Tel/fax: +81 (298) 53-5091
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