I like Stallman's "Freedom or Power?" paper... ( http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/freedom-or-power.html )
Stallman says "Freedom is being able to make decisions that affect mainly you. Power is being able to make decisions that affect others more than you. If we confuse power with freedom, we will fail to uphold real freedom." People often say things like, "Why shouldn't I be entitled to license my software any way I wish?" Imagine if I had the "freedom" to require everyone to salute me when they drive by my house. Is that really a "freedom" or power over others? Imagine if I had the "freedom" to forbid other people from using and changing my cooking recipes without going to jail. Is that freedom or power over others? Likewise, is it "freedom" for you to be able to forbid others to share and learn from your software work? Exactly what "freedom" are you losing if others use your work? Stallman would say you are really talking about *power* but calling it "freedom". Chris -- [email protected] http://www.kernel-panic.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/kplug-list
