On Fri, 2015-09-25 at 16:37 +0100, Pen-Yuan Hsing wrote: > There are two things: The message, and how you communicate it. > Unfortunately some people think they have the right message, and if > someone suggests a better way of communicating the message, they just > say: "Well that's your problem because my message is right and > just!". > > Like it or not, I really think both are important and rely on each > other. You can present a message really well but don't really say > anything, or you might be the embodiment of justice but ruin the > communication. > > As for the word "monetization", I agree with hk's response that it is > "a > symbol of something else". But that's exactly my point: "monetize" > has > *more than one* meaning, and some meanings don't automatically say > the > asker of that Slashdot question is a "parasite" who assumes > "everything" > has to be turned into money, and that turning things into money is > the > only goal in life. Unfortunately RMS's response assumes that that was > the case, and spends most of the response on sharing his contempt at > a > particular meaning of "monetize" that he doesn't like, without > answering > what can be a fair (and very important) question of how to > sustainably > fund (and even make a profit) out of making Free Software. > > I've been reading many blogs and websites with articles advocating > Free > Software, which is great. But unfortunately many of them seem very > sensitive to certain topics such as making money (and others). The > common response is usually composed of (1) making money (or some > other > practical benefit) is "not the point" of Free Software, freedom is > the > only important thing, and (2) anyone who asks about making money (or > some other practical consideration) is bad. > > Frankly, to me some of those articles look like rants and diatribes, > and > will not serve to promote Free Software. YES, freedom is of course > the > most important point of Free Software and why "open source" is > insufficient and why proprietary is bad. But I really don't think > practical benefits like making money (or, again, some other things) > have > to be deliberately excluded/avoided. In fact, I think as part of the > promotion of Free Software, practical benefits should be advertised > along with it! Maybe something like: "Look!!! Gaining/defending > freedom > doesn't mean you have to live in poverty, here are some very > successful > business models that respect freedom".
Well said, Pen-Yuan. Thank you for sharing. -- Kip Warner -- Senior Software Engineer OpenPGP encrypted/signed mail preferred http://www.thevertigo.com
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