On Sat, Dec 15, 2007 at 05:16:54PM -0600, Duncan Patton a Campbell wrote: > On Tue, 11 Dec 2007 14:05:16 -0800 > Ryan Corder <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > I understand and appreciate the "freedom" that is defined by both the > > BSD and GPL licenses; that of ensuring the authors continual right of > > ownership. However, in terms of true freedom, both have limitations in > > place. > > It occurs to me that there is some wide misuse of the words Freedom and Free > in open-software community. To be short, if somewhat cryptic, "Freedom's > just another word for nothin' left to lose". Free needs context, as in > "MSG-Free brocolli" or "Free Beer".
so you can define freedom? "Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose?" great song lyric; here's another. "I ain't often right but I've never been wrong; it seldom turns out the way it does in the song." > > What "Free" software is about is enabling the Liberty of other people. > Liberty is a peculiar kind of freedom that depends upon the use other > people's efforts in some unconstrained or previously unimaginable manner: > Liberty might get you to the moon, but freedom will only get you as high > as you can jump. according to Wikipedia: Liberty is generally considered a concept of political philosphpy and identifies the condition in which an individual has the ability to act according to his or her own will. according to Merriam-Webster: 1: the quality or state of being free: a: the power to do as one pleases b: freedom from physical restraint c: freedom from an arbitrary or despotic control d: the positive enjoyment of various social, political, or economic rights and provileges e: the power of choice 2: a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant: PRIVILEGE b: permission especially to go freely within specified limits 3: an action going beyond the normal limits: as a: a breach of etiquette or propriety : FAMILIARITY b: RISK, CHANCE <took foolish liberties with his health> c: a violation of rules or a deviation from standard practice d: a distortion of fact 4: a short authorized absence from naval duty usually for less than 48 hours synonyms see FREEDOM only meaning 2 from Meriam-Webster mentions others' actions, and it specifically says "within specified limits". please quit trying to redefine liberty, or any other word for that matter. > Proprietary systems rigidly constrain what can be accomplished with them > to activities the owners imagine will profit them, thus the user is > limited to "pre-approved" uses where novelty is strongly discouraged. and if you forget about your own liberties, then you have fallen into the trap. most people here understand that they have liberties. most people here think for themselves. most people here realize that educating themselves is the best way to protect their liberties. neither you, nor Richard Stallman redefining words and attempting to make people forget their liberties by talking about the drawbacks of proprietary software is going to change that. -- [EMAIL PROTECTED] SDF Public Access UNIX System - http://sdf.lonestar.org
