> ----
> OK - well, I used to think that I was somewhat socialist minded but
> apparently you are way far to the left of me -

Actually quite the opposite. I'm a little to the right of Henry David
Thoreau.

> but this is politics,
> pure and simple and to be honest, I cannot possibly deduce from your
> writings what you think the proper financial models should be. Clearly

I don't spend much time thinking in terms of "should." I'm more concerned
with what "is." Money is not evil, people are.

> the GPL license was written in contemplation of the fact that this is a
> capitalistic society and that the code would not become the provincial
> domain of any corporation, large or small, public, private or
> non-profit, but would be available for use, study and modification. I
> consider the GPL license to be similar to the Constitution of the United
> States, experimental in design, aiming to reach far into the future and
> desiring to protect freedoms some of which haven't been fully
> identified. The fact remains that this is a capitalistic society and
> both the Constitution and the GPL must co-exist in this society.
>
I think comparing the GPL to the Constitution is a bit of a stretch. In fact
this is all sort of a tempest in a teapot. Its only software.

> >From your earlier 'make a deal with the devil to go public' comment and
> your allusion to 'profit motive being evil' it's fairly evident that you
> have little use for a capitalistic society. Unfortunately, there are few
> places on this earth where you can safely practice your craft without
> this imposition upon you. While you may see FOSS as a means to achieve
> socialism and software for the people, I would suggest that FOSS is more
> of the means to keep the control out of any one or two corporations
> hands - thus, it is about keeping the stain of money off the software.
>
Well, the Constitution was supposed to limit the power of government and
protect individual liberty. It doesn't seem to be working very well. 200
years from now I doubt anyone will even remember GPL.

> By the way, not everyone hates monopolists...not their shareholders.

Good point. So the trick is to get in on the ground floor. ;-)
>
> Craig
>