NPO

> Indeed. I am an Open Source software advocate but I rarely push "free
> software." This, btw, is a *very* common attitude in the KDE camp and
> is one of the single biggest differences between KDE and GNOME
> developers. GNOME is very much a "free software" project... KDE is
> Open Source.

KDE is actually free software. As the QPL is free
software and KDE iirc is now dual licensed as GPL
also. You see the misnomer you have is that if it
isnt GPL/LGPL it isnt free software.

Please see:

http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/license-list.html
for a list of FREE software licenses.

RMS' push to get things to be GPL Compatiable has
complicated your view of FREE. There are only a
small number of GPL Compatiable licenses (I
believe that is what you consider free software)
However almost every piece of software on a
GNU\Linux box is under a FREE license, just not
necessarily a GPL Compatiable free license.


> The difference, for those who haven't followed the subtleties of the
> phrases, is that I prefer Open Source software solely because it is
> *practically* a much better model than closed source development for
> the things that I work on and use. Sure, the ethical and moral ideals
> that free software convey are *nice* and I realize that Open Source
> wouldn't even be here if not for the extremists like Richard... but I
> just can't seem to view closed source developers as evil or even
> wrong.

It is not mandatory one view closed source as evil
or wrong, though that is the common feeling most
'free advocates' have. I prefer to think of them
as just un enlightened. ;)


> And if you don't think of free software in terms of "good and evil"
> "morally right vs wrong", than you clearly haven't talked with TRUE
> free software advocates. Those of you who have talked with RMS (or
> even listened to any of his speeches) can back me up here :-)

I talk to RMS about daily and will back you up.
He believes very much this is a war and that prop
software is the enemy. Note I said prop software
not prop software developers. I think he wants to
educate people, but doesnt them as individuals as
evil. (Though he is less than tolerant of such
things so I can see the issue)

Derek Neighbors
derek@gnu.org