On 12/7/05, Chuck Player <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> At the very least, he should mention the source of this software. I don't
> have an issue with him selling it, just his method of selling it. The CD
> is
> reasonably priced and might be useful to someone with a dial up connection
> who doesn't want to spend the time downloading all of that. At the very
> least, he should give credit and links.
>
> Selling things that are freely available may not be legally wrong, but I
> have some moral issues with trying to make a buck off of other people's
> lack
> of knowledge.



Really?  Colleges do that all the time.  So do teachers, and trainers, and
elementary schools, and educational software, et. al.

Besides, the name that is listed on the ebay ad is OpenOffice.org - that's
obviously a website.  Anyone with a brain and an internet connection can
look it up.

Plus all the other programs are easily googlable.  If I didn't know about
these programs before, and if I didn't know about open source, I would at
least look up these things to get some idea what this software was I am
buying.  If people aren't willing to do that, then they can't be helped.
Plus, it's only $5, I mean, sheesh, it's not like he's getting rich off of
this.

What he's actually selling is a rebranded TheOpenCD -
http://www.theopencd.org/ - which encourages the selling of their CDs (as
does OOo) and even lists distributors on their website, (as does OOo).  They
might not list this guy, since he changed the name, but other than that, no
harm no foul.

He didn't even change, distort, or hide the name of the programs - like some
other sellers do.  And that's not a crime, either, btw.

What this guy is doing actually *HELPS* the Open Source movement.  He's
getting the software out there.  And if he makes a couple bucks doing it -
all the better.  He should be appluaded for his efforts.

--
- Chad Smith
http://www.gimpshop.net/
Because everyone loves free software!

Reply via email to