Abhijit Menon-Sen wrote: > At 2005-09-27 00:39:51 +0530, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > >>Of course, if you can convince them that it is a good idea for them to >>participate more, and do more to promote freedom, that would be a good >>thing. But that isn't a question of obligations. The community's role >>is partly to create an environment, as you say, that helps people to >>understand and appreciate the issues; but that isn't the function of >>the license per se. The two complement each other. > > > Let me explain that a little better. > > There are two major aspects to promoting Free software: First, you have > to convince individual authors to allow their software to be shared and > used freely. Then you try to convince them to do so in a way that seeks > to protect those freedoms in perpetuity (i.e. to use a Copyleft license > of some kind). > > The existence of a community is in itself a powerful argument in trying > to convince people to participate and contribute. And the license is an > important tool in sustaining the community by giving its ideas a sound > legal basis. At no stage does this involve any obligations other than > the legal ones you incur by agreeing to a Free software license. >
> Confusing those roles of protection and propagation will only end up > weakening both. At no point would I like to degrade the existing licenses, or the community - they seem to have solid foundations, I am seeking a clarity in the role of the free software community. I would like to say that it has helped me understand the underlying issues much better and appreciate the concerns of the Free software roponents. > (I suspect you're not going to like this, but RMS has written and said > now and again that the Free in Free software is derived from the same > roots as free enterprise, and inspired by the ideals expressed by the > American constitution. For example, see > <http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/gpl-american-way.html>) > > -- ams I guess your right , and it is a bit of bitter pill to swallow, nverthless but I would rather have this community and this freedom than no community and no freedom. And have the opportunity to still slug it out :-). > > _______________________________________________ > ilugd mailinglist -- [email protected] > http://frodo.hserus.net/mailman/listinfo/ilugd > Archives at: http://news.gmane.org/gmane.user-groups.linux.delhi > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > > Event: Freedel 2005, 17th & 18th September, 2005 - http://freedel.in > _______________________________________________ ilugd mailinglist -- [email protected] http://frodo.hserus.net/mailman/listinfo/ilugd Archives at: http://news.gmane.org/gmane.user-groups.linux.delhi http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Event: Freedel 2005, 17th & 18th September, 2005 - http://freedel.in
