Re: [Fsuk-manchester] Misunderstanding the Free Software Philosophy

[Bob Ham]

On Sun, 06 Jan 2013 21:47:09 +0000, Jacek Podkanski
<address@hidden> wrote:

> The more I read about it, the more it seems to me that Open Source 
> Methodology and Free Software Movement are two inseparable sides of the 
> same coin. You can't solve the social problems without solving the 
> practical problems.

I don't think this is a valid comparison.  A development methodology is
not the inverse of a social movement, and vice versa.  Similarly,
"practical" is not the opposite of either "ethical" or "social".

There can be a development methodology which is practical and also
unethical and anti-social, for example cathedral-style proprietary software
development.  However, there can be a development methodology which is
practical and also ethical and social, for example bazaar-style free
software development.

The phrases "free software" and "open source" refer to concepts that
aren't simply compared.  Their relationship is complex and subtle.  They
aren't two sides of the same coin.  They aren't even different sides of
different coins.  The way I see it, one (open source) is like a coin and
the other (free software) is like Metatron's Cube :-)

-- 
Bob Ham <address@hidden>

for (;;) { ++pancakes; }