Thank you for joining in the discussion which started with my message titled "cURL author receives rude LogJ4 security inquiry". (Date: Mon, 31 Jan 2022)
Here is my reply to some points raised in the course of discussion. On why gratitude is necessary, it is important to make a distinction between the subjective from the objective. We should not assume that it is just one of these and fail to see the other. Subjective: "I wrote this software. It was hard work. I do not object to people using it without paying me money, but I want to be recognized for my contribution. As such I demand expression of gratitude from each and every user." Objective: "Someone who gets something for free fails to say thanks is bound to fall into the fallacy that the object is not valuable. This distortion of value leads to misunderstanding of technology. Poor understanding in turn leads to abuse. Modern computers and communication devices are powerful; they can incur significant damage when abused or misused to users and by-standers alike. It is natural that those who understand technology to consider it their rightful duty to prevent such damage." That said, I understand that the use of coercive measures is not a good way to achieve the above goal. We should look for better means. Here I can make one suggestion. When I visit computer events I see people and groups busy promoting their accomplishments. With free software it is possible to discuss the technical inputs which went into one's work and made that accomplishment possible. Doing so is one way of expressing gratitude. Experience tells me that one is more likely to find good allies in this manner. --- Expression of gratitude, acknowledgment of someone's contribution to society come together. Please consider the following, a line of discussion all of us must have heard, in this light: "The OS should be called 'Linux' not 'GNU/Linux' as Richard Stallman suggests. It is true that Linus Torvalds used tools written by Richard Stallman to make the Linux. But Richard Stallman wrote none of the source code of Linux; his contribution was indirect and by no means sufficient to support his claim that the operating system should bear 'GNU' (which is the name of the project Stallman headed) in its name." Note that one consequence we have here is that technology is misunderstood. I believe that this is an epic example. Moreover the misunderstanding comes with the sinister aspect of throwing the unsuspecting novice off from the path which leads him to proper understanding.