Giving Back 135
In a community that champions the freedom of software and super-low-cost solutions, money is scarce. Without a big PR and marketing budget to back them up, travel arrangements and sleeping accommodations are paid for by the same people who donate countless hours making Linux a better environment to work and play in. The guy that makes $7 an hour at his tech support job and codes Linux device drivers at night is most likely paying his own way.
The LinuxWorld Conference and Expo in New York City was the largest Linux trade show to date. With a massive show floor and big-name exhibitors, you could almost hear the money change hands. On the other side of the cash fence, the .org pavilion was filled with bleary-eyed developers fighting with machines, trying to get their latest nifty gadget to compile. Some of the exhibitors in the .org pavilion had a bowl out to accept donations from the public, who they've invited in to their community. The fact that the .org pavilion gave these people a chance to shine is a big step in the right direction on behalf of the sponsors. The "if you build it, they will come" mentality is graciously accepted on behalf of the community, and they show up in droves to get great exposure for their work.
Donation cash seems to flow in the direction of the news of the day. While the DVD Copy Control Association barrels toward resolution on the distribution of the DeCSS code, conference folk emptied their pockets to help out the defendants in the case. At the Andover party at the China Club, Tucows Linux began accepting donations on behalf of the defendants to toss into the "DeCSS Legal Defense Fund." They collected $891 at that party, and Tucows matched them, bringing the total for the defense fund to $1,782. While they told everyone at the party that Tucows would double the cash, they had yet to clear it with Tucows President Elliot Noss. When they sheepishly approached Elliot after the party, Elliot was ecstatic and agreed to match the amount immediately. "This isn't about pirating movies but about engineering processes," he said, "Anything that stifles the people's ability to create is bad for consumers." Tucows cash aside, Linux kernel maintainer Alan Cox donated $10,000, exactly the amount of an award given to him by Slashdot earlier in the evening.
The Free Software Foundation is a well-known supporter of the Linux community. If it weren't for tools written for the GNU project or software distributed under the GPL license, Linux as we know it today would simply not exist. While the amount of money that was donated to the FSF last year is still in the hands of the auditors to be tallied and totalled, the FSF didn't add a lot to their coffers this last time out. The exact amount was not available at the time of this writing, but Leslie Proctor from the FSF assures me that it "wasn't enough to discuss."
On the other hand, Software in the Public Interest, Inc. received a decent amount at the show. SPI is a "blanket" non-profit organization devoted to helping out Open Source software projects, like Debian, GNOME and Berlin. Software in the Public Interest pulled down about $800 for the week, maybe a little bit more. I got the chance to talk to Darren Benham, treasurer for SPI, and I asked him how the donation at this show compared to other show they've attended. "I don't think there is a comparison. We only tracked donations at the last three Linux World Expos, and and they've been all over the map. The first one, we may have gotten two or 300 dollars total. At the last San Jose LinuxWorld Expo, we got closer to three thousand. The only way we collect money is by having something to offer. We had T-shirts at the LinuxWorld Expo in San Jose, we had some CD's at this one, and that's the only way we get any money at all from the expos." While being able to make money from donations is a great thing to continue the work, exposure is key. "We don't actually go to the expos to try and make money. We're there to get Debian out into the eyes of the public."
Re:IPO millionaires (Score:1)
Re:Donate money: the OS you save may be your own. (Score:1)
The Open source movement is sprung from the minds, and hearts of talented intelligent, and good loving people all they ask in return is recognition for there work, unlike most commercial software which is spawned in a detached marketer concerning with paying of his Lexus.
I like the fact that when I log into sunsite.unc.edu and grab the source for a new cool program, I can look through the source, and read his comments, and jokes, email the author who freely provides his email, and get support.
I feels like I am using software designing by people and for people, and not software designed by a company, when I use the program I know the author wrote and labored over out of love, not money. I am currently starting my own program, *I* want to contribute back to the community. I have found out that work that I am doing is some of the best programming I have done.
Anyway this is turning into a rant, Ill stop now. I was to lazy to log in.
nathan@bigfreakinserver.com
Very true (Score:1)
Re:So much more out there... (Score:1)
that was us:
we always welcome (tax deductible) donations of money or equipment (our average xterminal box is a 486 with 16-32 megs of ram), and, as any nonprofit will tell you, we're always more in need of people's time than their money, so if you know anyone near us who might want to help either with putting machines together or helping the kids, pass the word along.
we're also happy to offer advice & assistance to anyone who's interested in doing the same thing in his/her city. feel free to contact me at jeff.covey@pobox.com [mailto].
we're starting our first formal classes this week with an intro to unix class, to be followed by an html class, a course in basic c, maybe an emacs class; whatever various lug members want to teach. should be fun.
as to the .org pavilion at linuxworldexpo, it's rather sad that we've gotten to the point that emmett has to say: "The fact that the .org pavilion gave these people a chance to shine is a big step in the right direction on behalf of the sponsors." of course they should have been there, and the companies who live and breathe on the community's code should have paid their way there and put them proudly on a pedestal for everyone to see instead of hiding them where the pointy haired bossen couldn't find them and be frightened by them.
they should come out of the closest and admit that the heart of their products is being written by teenagers with green hair and noserings, and that that's ok.
linuxworldexpo was a bit odd, because it's not clear for whom it was meant. atlanta was for the community, san diego was for the corporations, thebazaar was for... well, who the hell knows who thebazaar was for, but linuxworldexpo new york seemed to be for the businesses who would tolerate the community so long as it was kept segregated in its own ghetto.
oh, btw: "eeeeemmmmmmmmmmmmmeeeeeettt!"
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moderators: start doing your job (Score:1)
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ROTFLMAO! (Score:1)
Re:the garbage can? (Score:1)
It may not have worked for you, but someone else might have been able toget some use out of it. Why clutter a landfill when you could have given it away? It wouldn't have cost you anything more than buying it and tossing it.
Re:popularity (Score:1)
You?
Re:popularity (Score:1)
OpenBooks gives up to 40% (Score:1)
The first book Developing Linux Applications: KDE Edition donates to the KDevelop project. The second book, Administrating Linux: The Basics has yet to be decided and is going to be put to a vote.
There is a FAQ about it here. [linuxports.com]
Re:So much more out there... (Score:1)
Re:Money isn't everything. (Score:1)
Just wondering... I mean, who cares about money...
Re:Donate money: the OS you save may be your own. (Score:1)
Apparently some people aren't donating as much money as the free software movement thinks.
Are you willing to work for free?
Re:Free speech, not free beer! (Score:1)
Re:Free speech, not free beer! (Score:1)
Yup, FSF uber alles
Re:This article makes me sick! (Score:1)
Re:Money isn't everything. (Score:1)
And remember, RMS didn't say that just because the software is free, you shouldn't be compensated (sp?). Why shouldn't companies, after making millions off of your software, send some your way?
You can't force them, but I would think decency would dictate that the companies spread the money as thanks for the value you give their products.
And don't tell me the companies are adding value by selling support. RedHat is still making most of its money from sale of the CDs.
Re:Linux is trendy, the rest aren't (Score:1)
I chose linux because Walnut Creek says it was simpler to use and install. It also supported more hardware. My point is most Linux users are older than me, and did not choose Linux for its recent fame.
Re:popularity (Score:1)
linux-newbie@vger.rutgers.edu
Donating (Score:1)
Made my life easier in the long run. And I've just been able to start my own consulting buisness based on this movement.
Re:CVS Server for LDP (Score:1)
Re:Ruling the world (Score:1)
I just don't see where you are getting this from. I serously doubt RMS wants power and control. What he wants is decentralization. He want his ideas to take hold and empower people. I honestly don't see him seeking power for himself.
"The FSF demands that all contributors to "GNU" projects sign over the rights to their work to the FSF. The FSF thus accumulates the rights to code in a way which it would deride if any other organization were to do so."
The reason for this is that the FSF has a better shot at defending this software against theft. We all know corporations would love to steal this code and profit from it and of course individual developers are not able to fight them as effectively as FSF is. Nobody is coerced into signing away their copyrights. Nobody is under any obligation to turn code over to the FSF they do so voluntarily.
Ruling the world (Score:1)
by Brett Glass on Sunday February 20, @06:53AM MDT (#138)
(User Info) http://www.brettglass.com/mailbrett.html
what [Stallman] did not forsee however was the abuse of the patent system. If he had just patented
all of his code in the beggining he would rule the world.
Ah.... Now we're getting down to brass tacks. If Stallman doesn't want money, what does he want? The
answer: power and control -- in essence, to "rule the world."
Just as the pigs in the book "Animal Farm" eventually become as greedy as the farmer they displaced, we
see that the FSF -- while it condemns the "hoarding" of software -- does so itself.
The FSF demands that all contributors to "GNU" projects sign over the rights to their work to the FSF.
The FSF thus accumulates the rights to code in a way which it would deride if any other organization were
to do so.
"The FSF has accumulated control of millions of dollars' worth of software, and makes it non-free by denying its use to commercial programmers. This is the greatest hypocrisy of all. GPLed software is not "free" software at all. It's part of an empire which is now being built and which is no less malevolent than that of Microsoft."
This is absolutely true. Just like corporations hoard source code and threaten others who would use the source the FSF uses the same tactics and laws against corporations (and others who would steal code). I would guess that the ratio of hoarded code by private corporations to the FSF stach has got to be HUGE. As for malice well I don't see where FSF can be compared to Microsoft. The FSF makes their code freely "usable" by anybody although they limit redistribution MS does not do this. The FSF has broken no laws. The RMS has not commited perjury unlike Bill G. I don't see how you can say the FSF is as evil as MS when even a cursory glance at the dealings of MS will show them to be ruthless cut-throat businessmen who don't let little things like morals and ethics get in the way of them making money.
Yet another idiot. (Score:1)
FSF does not approve or disaprove software licenses. They have no such authority given to them.
FSF is unable to slap handcuffs on anybody at any time under any circumstances. They are not a law enforcement agency.
FSF can not under any circumstances prevent you from licensing software entirely written by you any way you want. The only time they will raise a fuss is when you steal code from people who do not want it to be stolen and try to make a profit from it. If you want to use other peoples code you should restrict yourself to code released under a BSD style licence. If you steal code from GPLed or closed source licenses you likely to get sued. You better believe MS or SUN would sue your ass off if you stole their code too.
I hope this clarifies some things for you. You seem to be confused about these issues.
I don't think you get it. (Score:1)
The only way you could achieve this "change a variable and create a fork" scenario is take some software licenced under a liberal BSD like scheme. If you use GPLed or "closed source" licenced code you invite a lawsuit.
It all makes sense. Some people (MS, SUN, etc) don't want you to steal their code so they hide it and will sue the pants off of you if you try to profit from their labors. Other people GPL their code so that you could use it but not steal it, If you try to profit from their code they will sue you too. Still other people don't give a damn what you do with their code.
Here is a summary: If you want to profit from other peoples labor make sure they don't mind.
Re:This article makes me sick! (Score:1)
Re:So much more out there... (Score:1)
Imagine if every geek millionaire gave just a few percent of their income towards helping thir own community get better we could wipe out hunger in california!
Why are you people so dense? (Score:1)
On what planet does the FSF or RMS able to deny people the right to create closed source software.
Where and when did RMS say he wanted to "ban proprietary software"? Please provide a link. How could he or FSF ever achieve and enforce such a ban? Is the president of the world or something.
If you make blatantly false statements like this people are going to think you are complete idiot.
You are still confused. (Score:1)
Re:The GPL *is* an attempt to use force. (Score:1)
Re:Why are you people so dense? (Score:1)
Re:Why are you people so dense? (Score:1)
Re:DVD T-shirts (Score:1)
Newbie Documentation? (Score:1)
I can understand his frustration - I find the HOWTO and MAN stuff pretty easy, but if you needed to search through the directory for something, and didn't know what grep or man was, it could be difficult at first (I guess this is what books are for, in that case).
More step by step docs could be a helpful thing...
"Software in the Public Interest, Inc" (Score:1)
They ought to be prepared for name confusion if they ever hit the press...
Re:Free speech, not free beer! (Score:1)
Re:Newbie Documentation? (Score:1)
huh? (Score:1)
Woodstock, what? (Score:1)
and bring yourself and your green and white colored cars for 3 days of peace, love, and beowulf clusters...
Re:Free speech, not free beer! (Score:1)
I guess it's OK for Microsoft to encourage people to use their software with a hundred million dollars worth of ads a year, then slap hand cuffs on those customers when they try release their own application under a different license that the Microsoft approved one.
Well, yes, it is OK. It's their software. So I'm not free, for example, to write a bunch of Excel macros, copy them together with the install files for Excel onto a CD, and then legally mass-market that CD as "WDK's EZ-calc." Does this strike you as an unacceptable infringement of my rights?
Microsoft licenses software that is their own property any way they like, and no one objects. If you don't like their licensing terms, then you are free not to use their product. If you write a program all on your own, then you can license it as you like, sell it, lease it, give it away, do whatever you want, and no one will object. What's so different about the FSF, that you complain about FSF developers exercising their own property rights?
Yours WDK - WKiernan@concentric.net
Re:carpools (Score:1)
I get +1 to my score for being a karma slut (I'm not a whore, I do it because I like it.) I responded and quoted him intentionally so his idea would have less chance of being overlooked.
numb
Re:Ruling the world (Score:1)
The ratio between the amount of code owned ("hoarded" is Stallman's pejorative term) by other people and that owned by Microsoft is likely quite small too. Yet Microsoft is malevolent and dangerous. The same is true of the FSF.
As for malice well I don't see where FSF can be compared to Microsoft.
It's actually much worse than Microsoft. Not all of Microsoft's products were created with the express intent of destroying others' livelihoods or driving honest people out of business. But the FSF's entire mission is to do this.
The FSF makes their code freely "usable" by anybody although they limit redistribution MS does not do this.
Actually, that's exactly what Microsoft did with Internet Explorer. And it achieved similar effects.
The FSF has broken no laws.
I believe that the FSF has defrauded the IRS by claiming to be a charitable non-profit organization. In fact, it accumulates capital (in the form of valuable code), competes directly with private enterprise, fails to means-test its benefits, and engages in other activities which disqualify it as a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. Right now, the FSF is getting money from United Way -- money which was donated by people who wanted to contribute to charitable organizations -- when its real intent is to destroy proviate businesses. I believe that this is fraudulent.
The RMS has not commited perjury unlike Bill G. I don't see how you can say the FSF is as evil as MS when even a cursory glance at the dealings of MS will show them to be ruthless cut-throat businessmen who don't let little things like morals and ethics get in the way of them making money.
Microsoft is ruthless and cut-throat some of the time. The FSF is all the time.
--Bret Glass
Ruling the world (Score:1)
Ah.... Now we're getting down to brass tacks. If Stallman doesn't want money, what does he want? The answer: power and control -- in essence, to "rule the world."
Just as the pigs in the book "Animal Farm" eventually become as greedy as the farmer they displaced, we see that the FSF -- while it condemns the "hoarding" of software -- does so itself.
The FSF demands that all contributors to "GNU" projects sign over the rights to their work to the FSF. The FSF thus accumulates the rights to code in a way which it would deride if any other organization were to do so.
The FSF has accumulated control of millions of dollars' worth of software, and makes it non-free by denying its use to commercial programmers. This is the greatest hypocrisy of all. GPLed software is not "free" software at all. It's part of an empire which is now being built and which is no less malevolent than that of Microsoft.
--Brett Glass
Re:So much more out there... (Score:1)
Re:This article makes me sick! (Score:1)
I'm one to talk. I've given $15 total. To the North Texas Linux Users Group. I should give more, they've earned it.
well thought out (Score:1)
One of the things that seems to make the linux world run (note the capitalization) is that the users seem to be the community, and seem (so far) disinterested in the "ooh -- lets make money" mentality. Hence the hat passing that succeeded nicely at the Slashdot party, and the quick agreement by the head of Tucows to match the funds raised.
This doesn't stop things like the almost South Seas Bubble mentality of the stocks and venture capital, but those seem to be outside influences. Only time will tell if those influences will take over the linux world or if the shrug them off.
hswoolve - why, if my Karma is 0, do I keep getting moderator points?
Re:I thought it was free software? (Score:1)
Right! That's the beauty of it. If you don't want to pay for it, don't. If you feel that free software hasn't done anything beneficial for you, then hey, no sweat - you didn't have to pay anything for it and you're free to just dump it. On the other hand, if you feel that it's helped you, then you're more than welcome (not required) to give something back to the community.
And that's really the important part - nobody is really talking about sending money to the people who wrote the software you're using. They don't expect to be payed back - if anything, they want you to pay it 'forward'. You can do this by donating money if you want, but a better way is to donate yourself. If you can write code, write some good software and give it away so that everyone can benefit like you did. If you can't code, maybe you can simply help other people use the same software that you're enjoying - write a FAQ or HOWTO, or just give your email address to a newbie and help them as they need it.
That's what the 'spirit of free software' is, as sappy as it sounds. (And I'll admit, it does sound like something you'd hear about in a cartoon around Christmas.) I know that I wouldn't be where I am now if someone hadn't helped me get into Linux about 5 years ago, and it makes me happy that I can now write software and give it away to the same community that helped me then.
Just try it for a bit - you might be surprised at how nice it really feels.
Re:Notice who was giving the money (Score:1)
Re:Open source becoming too commercial (Score:1)
Re:carpools (Score:1)
go ahead and moderate this post down. ill see you in hell
Re:carpools (Score:1)
oops
Great to see (Score:1)
I cannot think of any group which is so willing to stand up for itslef and its members when they are in peril, and is legal at the same time.
Keep up the good work, and show your support. The best way to spread the message is to make sure you're shouting it loudly and clearly.
--
Talon Karrde
Re:Money isn't everything. (Score:1)
Money isn't everything. (Score:1)
What I'm trying to say is: who cares about money? I've been coding demos for years and never got anything in return. I'm currently involved in a couple of opensource projects and I'm not getting any money either. Who cares about money when you can have great fun doing what you like and meeting people interested in the same things? It's a shame that almost everything people do these days automatically triggers the question: "How much money will you get for it?"
How to get money to coders/whats a real charity (Score:1)
For example, the PostgreSQL [postgresql.org] project could probably use a couple bucks. Wouldn't it be nice to have a sql92 complient database with replication support... that's opensource!!
I've donated hardware to a linux developer, but I think the best opportunity for hardware to get out there are company donations, which happens frequently. It's odd, because without an organization behind you (LI/XFree86) I think any individual would feel odd saying. Send me money, send me hardware.
As for "true" charities, there are many of us opensource minded people that think that free software has the potential to give back many times more to the "true" charities. For example:
- pgp has saved many lives in oppresive regimes (read zimmermans homepage)
- PBS just announced that they are rolling out 600 desktops of win2000 (600*$200=!!!)
Not that "true" charities are less deserving, it's just wrong to think that free-software is just a cheap nerds paradise.Re:Free speech, not free beer! (Score:1)
Caldera acts are clearly anti-GPL at trade shows (Score:2)
Re:So much more out there... (Score:2)
My personal "pet" project at the moment is fighting UCITA in the Maryland legislature. I usually have at least one side "freebie" project going, as do most of the local Linux people I know. This is what makes us a community, remember?
It's good to give back a little of yourself. I'm no millionaire, but writing about Linux and open source makes me a decent living and has given me a certain amount of fame. I don't feel I've gotten to wherever it is I am today because I am brilliant, but because I have been incredibly lucky and have been helped by many mentors along the way.
So it is my duty to give others a leg up and help them, just as others have helped me.
But the real kudos go to Jeff Covey, Steve Killen and Dan Pearson (all of whom work for Andover) and the many other volunteers and donors who work on GITS - and have made the Linux computers in their home-built lab so popular that the kids argue over who gets to use which terminal for how long.
- Robin 'roblimo' Miller
Re:Donate money: the OS you save may be your own. (Score:2)
I got into Linux because I didn't have the money to keep buying new Windows software and new hardware to run every so-called upgrade. There are a lot of people out there who can't afford new computers and commercial software. The current economic bubble isn't doing much for most of my neighbors except running up rents and other costs a lot faster than their incomes are going up.
It's easy to spout "it's their own fault they're poor" BS when you're young and/or talented and/or lucky, but not as easy when you get a few years on you or have had some rough times of your own.
When Bruce Perens makes "Robin the Cabbie" jokes, they're not really jokes. I drove a cab for years. Almost all my cab (and later, limo) money went to child support and I lived on my free-lance writing income, which didn't start to become substantial until about five years ago. (And Bruce knows this. He and I knock each other as friends, not as enemies.)
I've gone through some very hard times, and I haven't forgotten them. In a lot of ways my life didn't start getting *really good* until I started using Linux.
This is the reason I am such a rabid Linux and free software evangelist.
Sure, I'm riding on the current Linux and open source corporate gravy train in my own small way right now, but if that ever ends I will still be an ardent Linux booster. Meanwhile, if I can help out a little here and there, I can and do. I get my money's (and time's) worth back in many ways, not all of which show up on a balance sheet.
- Robin 'roblimo' Miller
But seriously (Score:2)
This is Jon's calling: his background, style, and motivation perfectly suit him for helping to kick off _non_ geek rejections of things like that. All he needs is a forum, and though Slashdot isn't an ideal forum for him, I am sure he can reach the proper forums as needed.
Lawyers, air travel, and bandwidth cost money (Score:2)
Re:Supporting 'greater community' charities (Score:2)
I'm glad to hear it and you made some excellent points. The realty is a lot open source programmers are not dirt poor, in fact many have high-paying jobs, and many are paid to develop open source projects which already have plenty of big money sponsors backing them already. Some OSS developers need the money and some don't, and I'm glad to see those who don't redistributing it to anyone who really needs it. Some whiners may shout that's wasting capital, but businesses give to charity all the time, sometimes because it's a tax write-off and other times just out of genuine spirit of philanthropy.
CVS Server for LDP (Score:2)
A cool approach might be to build something like a WikiWikiClone [slashdot.org] that can collect up improvements made online, and turn them into linear presentations. I suggest this because the Wiki mechanism is very much oriented towards the approach of improve a page here or there a bit.
Travel Fund (Score:2)
This could also be extended as a general legal fund in case something like the UCITA gets passed and their software doesn't work, or if a software program causes a company to get pissed enough to sue.
I don't know if something like this already exists, but if it doesn't I'd sure like to see this pop up.
Re:Why are you people so dense? (Score:2)
I thought you just told me his goal was the creation of Free Software. Now you tell me his goal is to fight corporations. And you wonder why people accuse the FSF of being anti-commercial!
"If he had just patented all of his code in the beggining he would rule the world."
Was that Richard's goal? To rule the world? I'm glad you got that out in the open instead of hiding behind the rhetoric of "free" and "voluntary".
Re:Ruling the world (Score:2)
You just finished telling us that RMS is collecting a community to fight the corporations with! You just got through telling us that RMS could have ruled the world if he had used patents! Make up your mind. If you argue out of both sides of your mouth you end up spouting gibberish.
Re:You are still confused. (Score:2)
Boy, now I'm confused as all get out. Are you saying I can't profit off of GPL software? What the hell is Cygnus then? What about Redhat, SuSE, Corel? Hell, even Cheapbytes deserves a lawsuit I guess.
Re:Notice who was giving the money (Score:2)
Re:This article makes me sick! (Score:2)
The problem with the Free Software movement (as opposed to the Open Source movement) is that it wants to replace proprietary software development with guiltware. Geez, walking through the dot.org pavillion is like trying to watch PBS during pledge week.
If you don't want people freeloading, don't give out freebies.
Re:Free speech, not free beer! (Score:2)
If Free Software == Free Speech, then why the hell isn't it in the Constitution?
Quick civics lesson for the forgetful. Free Speech means you have the freedom and right to make, utter, create, express speech. You ALREADY have the right to create software. You already have the right to release and distribute it under any bleeding license you want. Free Speech isn't in the constitution in order to grant you some heretofore undiscovered priviledge. NO! It there to guarantee you a right that you ALREADY have!
If you deny people to right to create closed source software, you are eliminating Free Speech. Yet this is exactly what the FSF wants to do, ban proprietary software. If RMS had settled for creating Open Source replacements for proprietary software, he would have been my hero. But he didn't stop there. He decided that he had a cause, and that cause, like all others, was to force the world into his particular vision of it. When he uses terms like subjugation, domination and slavery with regard to closed source software, he is making a complete mockery of everything he says he stands for.
``Free software'' is a matter of liberty, not price.
I am unware of any piece of Free Software that I cannot obtain for zero cash. Sure, the FSF may sell the Deluxe GNU (tm) for $5000, but I can still download every bit of it for zero dollars and zero cents.
Re:Yet another idiot. (Score:2)
That's true of course, so long as the software written solely by me never comes in contact with GPLd software. The FSF certainly can, and has, prevented the distribution of programs whose only crime was to dynamically link to GPL code.
Re:Why are you people so dense? (Score:2)
(www.gnu.org/fsf/fsf.html) To quote: "The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is dedicated to eliminating restrictions on copying, redistribution, understanding, and modification of computer programs."
You may be right that RMS never comes out and promotes an elimination of proprietary software through the means of force and legislation. However, when he equates Free Software to Free Speech it seems obvious to me that he desires equal legal protection for it. If they're both the same, then legal injunctions against denying someone the right to speak are equivalent to legal injunctions against denying someone the right to modify or redistribute software.
Re:A lot of anti-FSF attitude going around (Score:2)
The Free Software Foundation doesn't get donations from the computer industry in the same way that the Sierra Club doesn't get donations from the lumber industry. Even though the Sierra Club honestly feels that its policies will ultimately help the lumber industry in the long run, they aren't not so naive as to waste their time soliciting donation from sawmills and lumberjacks. If the FSF desires more funding, it needs to look outside the software creation industry. As long as they state in the GNU Manifesto that programmers should not make more money than salesclerks, then they should not be surprised when the majority of programmers do not contribute.
Re:Notice who was giving the money (Score:2)
I indeed have ample amounts of charity and compassion. But I have no patience with those who condemn others based solely on their bank accounts.
Re:This article makes me sick! (Score:2)
"Here's a flyer. Please put some money in the can so we can continue providing you with more free software."
I've been involved with a lot of non-profit organizations. Putting out a can to collect donations in never brought in much money. You don't host a free dance and then sell tickets for a ten dollar donations. However, I found out a lot of things that worked. People like to buy so sell stuff.
Here's a better idea... Burn a few hundred CDs with the latest Gnome on them and sell them for $5 apiece. "Only available here! Tomorrow's Gnome today! Only five bucks. Every Gnome application known included." And then take that now unused ceramic gnome mug and auction it off to the highest bidder.
Re:A lot of anti-FSF attitude going around (Score:2)
If you want to write some free software, that's cool. If you want to have a license that requires all your work to stay free, that's clever. But if you bitch and piss and moan for decade after decade about how evil people that write and sell and make a profit off commercial, pay software, don't be surprised when those people don't turn their hard earned money over to you.
You'd think that RMS would realize by this point that the people that he's tryign to get to support his cause are the people who are basin gtheir lives on doing what he's crusading about. That contradiction alone is enough to make me doubt his sanity.
Re:carpools (Score:2)
Hey, an excellent idea. I hope your idea gets moderated up for more eyes to see.
numb
Re:popularity (Score:2)
DVD T-shirts (Score:2)
Thank you everyone who purchased a shirt or stopped by the copyleft booth.
Dom
copyleft.net
Re:A lot of anti-FSF attitude going around (Score:2)
That doesn't make sense. There are thousands of political organizations with very unpopular stances on touchy issues that are rolling in donor cash. Half the problem in the FSF is absolutely no non-profit fundraising sense and an unwillingness to relinquish an unpopular and alarmist (to the layman) popular image.
The fact of the matter is, they have some of the best coding talent in the world working under perhaps the most brilliant development system in the world. They just need a PR and marketing arm that flexes a little more muscle & buffs that GNU image to a healthy golden shine.
Is it fist pumping Che-type freedom that you're fighting for, or the right to produce software in a peer-reviewed development cycle? If it's the latter, then stand for the cycle itself, rather than the right to employ it -- at least in public. Then you take your soft donor money and talk to some senators on a golf course...
Re:Donating (Score:2)
It's just not feasible to do with a similar configuration in NT, as I would have to purchase a copy of it solely for home use.
In addition, it's the ONLY way to steer a customer looking into teching up their business/office. Not only can you give them guaranteed stability, but at a fraction of the cost.
Re:Why are you people so dense? (Score:2)
At http://www.fsf.org/gnu/manifesto.html [fsf.org], where Stallman says:
Which is what Stallman advocates: banning commercial software and commercial software companies. The stated purpose of the GPL is to destroy all programming jobs which pay better than what is earned by a starving graduate student.
At http://www.fsf.org/phi losophy/free-software-for-freedom.html [fsf.org],Richard says:
And at http://www.fsf.or g/philosophy/categories.html#ProprietarySoftware [fsf.org], Stallman writes:
These, and other documents, reaffirm Stallman's goal of driving all commercial software (which he calls "proprietary" software even though that word has a different meaning in normal usage) out of the marketplace.
--Brett Glass
The GPL *is* an attempt to use force. (Score:2)
Actually, this is exatly what the GPL does. By using existing legislation (the copyright laws), and force (the force of courts and police, which enforce them), the GPL seeks to sabotage commercial software vendors. This process is explicitly explained on the FSF's Web pages.
--Brett Glass
Open source becoming too commercial (Score:2)
Notice who was giving the money (Score:2)
Balck Sheep (Score:2)
One sure bet? (Score:2)
Isn't this two sure bets?
Doh! OK so I'm an idiot! (Score:3)
From the front page of http://www.gnu.org/
The Free Software Foundation has been awarded $10,000 as the Most Deserving Open Source Charity in the Andover.net/Slashdot Beanie awards. GNOME was awarded $30,000 as the Most Improved Open Source Project.
Boy, is my face red! Maybe I should some homework before I rant? Nah. That would be very unSlashdotlike of me!
OK, fine. Well in that case, let's give 'em more! Give 'til it hurts!
Free speech, not free beer! (Score:3)
``Free software'' is a matter of liberty, not price. To understand the concept, you should think of ``free speech'', not ``free beer.'' ``Free software'' refers to the users' freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve the software.
FSF says over and over that yes, it's OK to sell software and make money, but it's not cool encouraging people to use your software then slapping hand cuffs on them when they try to disassemble it or customize it for their own needs.
I guess the Free Software Foundation should've been named the Software Liberty Foundation or something like that to avoid confusion over the term "free".
Supporting 'greater community' charities (Score:3)
popularity (Score:3)
**> Write decent documentation You wanna talk about revenue? Here's a hint: I just spent over a week on the phone tracking down whether a particular scsi card was compatible with linux. Would I have paid $5/year to subscribe to a service that could provide me with those answers on demand, online, and without a phone call? Oh, HELL YES.
I want to see someone write STEP BY STEP documentation for helping newbies setup ppp. Think of it as a super-advanced wizard - you start with "what distribution?" and then give the options for how you want ppp setup - you have kppp, pppd, modem control panel, etc. Then you step them through (with pictures!) setting this up. Distribute it on a "Linux Documentation CD". You'll strike gold out here in the linux community... we're dying for decent docs. No, the LDP does *not* yet qualify, and I DO NOT consider the HOWTO and guides section to be adequate for someone less than technically minded. I very painfully learned linux... I basically read 10 pages out of "Linux: unleashed" and then it hit the garbage can.. everything else I learned from man pages and howtos. It was PAINFUL.
So there you have it... make next year's expo theme "What's up, docs?"
Re:A lot of anti-FSF attitude going around (Score:3)
It's no wonder that corporations are not contributing to a foundation whose goals are a complete rewrite of the software industry. Why should a CEO pay them any heed when he's told to go wait on tables instead of selling software? Why should an industry based on software as a product donate to an organization that demands software not be owned?
Perhaps they're smart enough to realize that donating to the FSF will not advance Free Software, rather it will work towards eliminating all other Free Software in favor of a particular brand of Free Software known as GNU. They have ample justification in worrying that they donations will be used to fight other Free Software projects, like tcl and kde.
Re:Caldera acts are clearly anti-GPL at trade show (Score:3)
Matching funds (Score:3)
The problem with this strategy is that the license fees have gotten obscene. My Linux systems aren't comparable to a $200 personal Windows seat, they're equivalent to a $10,000+ Windows NT/2K system with multiple CALs, enterprise web, ftp and database servers, etc. Can I justify writing a donation check larger than the cost of my hardware? Can I justify it when I'm also donating my effort to maintain OSS applications?
On the other hand, employers should definitely be evaluating using a "matching fund" approach to OSS. E.g., if they choose Apache over IIS they should cut a check to Apache, or another OSS project. Even ten cents on the dollar will go a *long* way towards paying lawyer fees, bandwidth and storage, travel expenses, etc.
It's even a sound decision when looking at the bottom line. Donating $1000 to Apache is still far cheaper than the cost of using their own staff to maintain and extend Apache themselves.
carpools (Score:3)
Just Silly (Score:3)
Money doesn't make good software.
Donate money: the OS you save may be your own. (Score:3)
The conclusion? apparently, some people are less concerned about the amount of money the spend and more concerned about the amount of privacy they spend. The only true advantage to "free" software is that you don't have to give somebody's bastard marketing corp your home address/credit card #/blood type in order to use it.
one must wonder how far this paranoia can carry us - might there be a future in "free" telephones, electrical power, who knows what?
hmmm... *evil grin* open source playboy. Oh, nevermind, just thinking out loud.
Linux community? (Score:4)
First, I'd say that the Linux Community has always been a supporter of the FSF, but not always the other way around. (spare me your GNU/Linux!) Also, the core BSD people have always been very gracious, unlike some of their (rabid FreeBSD) users (to balance out our rabid Linux-on-x86 users
Where am I going with this? Well, I guess I just don't want to hear more "Linux-is-good Rah-rah-rah" stuff as much as I want to hear "The cooperation in the Free Software and Hacker communities is astounding, and many wonderful projects and environments have come from this, such as Linux."
We should continue to support the development and implementation of new and cool ideas, and not let ourselves get too stuck on one platform or OS. Our portability is our strength.
---
pb Reply or e-mail; don't vaguely moderate [152.7.41.11].
So much more out there... (Score:4)
There's many more charities/.orgs who you can really help, tech-related and non. I remember reading, back in August, about a LUG in Baltimore(I think?) who helped inner-city, disadvantaged kids get online and get the technological know-how that they'll need to get ahead, 15-30 years from now in the workplace. I'd love to hear of more people giving to that sort of group, both time, money, and material goods(read: boxes =)
On the non-tech side, think of everything that's helped you along the way. Did you grow up watching Sesame Street? I'm sure your local public TV station would give you a coffee mug if you threw $25 at them.. Habitat for Humanity prefers time/work donated, but $ probably won't hurt them...
Give till it hurts!--
Neil
Then stop whining and start writing! (Score:4)
Even if we do recall what we went through, our assumptions were very different. I used punch cards in college, and the card reader (I was told) transmitted the job to another university 100 miles away for processing. Each run cost "money" and after maybe 25 tries we had to ask the professor for more computer time. In graduate school I got *unlimited* access to a VT-100 which was connected to a BSD-4 system (not *BSD. *Real* BSD that ran on a VAX 11/750 in its own shrine room with picture windows to impress the underclassmen.) I thought I had died and gone to heaven... and I didn't work with a GUI display for almost a decade afterwards.
Do you think I have any chance of writing useful "newbie" documentation? Get real. But *you* know what assumptions a newbie - or at least *some* newbies - bring with them when they try out Linux. You know what questions they will ask -- and what type of information is useful to them.
So *you* should be writing the newbie documentation. You might not think you can do much, but even a list of the 50 things you wish someone told you a few months ago might be enough to make it much easier for the next person.
It's important to note that that's how I write my HOWTOs. I don't write them for Joe Q. Random, I write them to remind me what I did 6 months later. If I think they're general enough, and there's not already a HOWTO out there, I'll toss them up on my web site. If I get enough feedback to show that others find it useful, I'll also send it to the LDP.
A lot of anti-FSF attitude going around (Score:5)