Re: In the news

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

>>>>> "FB" == Frank BENNETT <bennett@example.com> writes:

    FB> More to the point, surely the free software community does not
    FB> generally expect its members to prove their ideological
    FB> credentials by going bankrupt on the way to jail. 

The free software community, as defined by rms, does not care if its
members go bankrupt, or to jail.  I don't see anything in eschewing
proprietary software that inherently means criminal violation, but it
certainly could cause bankruptcy (eg, if you are a technical writer).
rms does not see bankruptcy as a big issue.  He himself derives a
large fraction of his conventional standard of living from in-kind
contributions of bed and board.

In this particular case, rms probably would side (reluctantly) with
MP3.COM.  Remember, he enforces non-free licenses on his own
non-software works, including stuff that is arguably documentation.

    FB> The community works because it is tied together more by common
    FB> interest than by ideology.  In my view, anyway.

You're talking about the open source community, which works in a
practical sense.  The free software community is definitely defined by
ideology, although many of its members disagree with rms's hard line
and Leninist practices.

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