On Tue, Feb 14, 2006 at 07:52:26PM -0800, Adam McKenna wrote: > On Tue, Feb 14, 2006 at 04:17:11PM -0500, Joe Smith wrote: > > >dict is both free AND convenient! > > > > > > n 1: the state of being suitable or opportune; "chairs arranged > > > for his own convenience" > > Why would one desire freedom for something except that it is more suitable > > or opportune than not being free? > > Yes, convenience is an *effect* of certain types of freedom. As a mental > exercise, try to imagine a scenario where the existence of a particular piece > of free software would be very *inconvenient* for you.
I think convenience is something to be considered in determining whether something is free or not; a hint, nothing more, but not irrelevant either. It's something that can be sacrificed, to a certain degree: the GPL is pretty inconvenient at times, but its effects are acceptable. Practicality is more significant. If a license makes it *impractical* to exercise DFSG freedoms, it's non-free. That doesn't actually say much, except that merely making it "possible" to exercise freedoms isn't enough, if it's not practical; that there are limits to the hoops that can be placed in front of DFSG freedoms. Of course, that's also just a guideline--there are some cases which we accept being made impractical by a license, such as proprietary distribution (because that case is considered inherently incompatible with Free Software goals). I think it's a better one than "convenience", though. > No, it's desirable because it's free. Convenience is subjective. Freedom is > absolute. Freedom is subjective, too; there are a lot of views on it, even within the bounds of the letter of the DFSG. -- Glenn Maynard -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
