Hi,
On Fri, Aug 24, 2018 at 6:48 AM David McMackins <cont...@mcmackins.org> wrote:
>
> > in that case, you are showing acute symptoms of stallmanitis.
>
> You can use slurs all you want.
Some people here are apparently not as pro Free Software as the rest
of us. Though it's (almost) impossible to be a zealot with DOS, even
FreeDOS, because of so much proprietary legacy (including BIOS). We
have to make do with what we're given. I wish people were more
open-minded and diligent about preserving (converting, freeing) old
software instead of letting it rot or die.
It's okay to be pragmatic or not waste all your free time on such
worries. But I do think Free Software is useful, pragmatic, even
necessary in many cases. Let's not trivialize the advantages (or
ignore all proprietary disadvantages). I may not agree that
proprietary software is always directly evil, that indeed is a bit too
stern. But it does often hamper getting work done. "Freedom" is such a
loaded, cliche word, but truly having freedom allows one to do the
greatest good sometimes.
> I'm citing an accepted definition to clear a misconception.
You're correct, of course. They aren't opposed to making some money,
but they prefer an upfront, one-time bounty rather than perpetual
royalties ("hoarding"). They also sell CDs, books/manuals, accept
donations, etc.
> By the way, I don't even like Richard Stallman,
I think that's unfair. It's too easy to judge people you've never met
and who have never personally done anything to you. Disagreeing with
some of his politics is one thing, though, but don't take it
personally!
> and I won't be part of the FSF much longer.
Do what you have to do. But don't vilify anyone unless forced.
Nobody's perfect, but we certainly don't need more strife. (I'm not
directly involved with them either, but I harbor no ill will. It's
better just to be peaceful rather than constantly outraged over
trivialities.) Whatever you think of them, they've done a lot of good
technical work.
> FreeDOS claims to be a free
> system with all software released under "open source" licenses (which
> was a term invented in an attempt to make the "free software" term less
> confusing and more friendly to businesses).
FreeDOS ain't perfect, but at least some of us have tried to make it
better. Complaining doesn't fix bugs. But we're always low on
volunteers, and I'm no engineer, so my contributions are weak. Still,
IMNSHO, it's a very good OS! I love it!
> > still annoying.
>
> Get over it. No one's forcing you to read it, and it doesn't get in the
> way of the actual message. It's an email signature, and almost everyone
> has had them for a long time.
There is a point where people's eyes tend to glaze over due to
irrelevant details. However, the ads that SF.net adds at the bottom
(compounded by the fact that nobody trims their replies, hence tons of
redundancy) makes your sig less of an issue overall.
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