Dear Guru & parmeender, It seems you couldnt able to spend time for answering mail of RMS pointing the lack of conceptual clarity for your new term in Mail http://lists.fosscom.in/pipermail/network-fosscom.in/2010-September/002915.html
I am trying to address the Another pillar of your Public software formulation- The public good space . I feel It also shares the issues of conceptual confusion What is a Public good & what makes a public good is an important question. Then only we can reach at What makes software for Public good A public good is non rivalrous and non excludable in the sense of a street light. if i get light from it, it does not exclude you from enjoying it or reduces the light you get that is a public good it is with respect to 'specific goods (commodities)' . not commodity in that mares sense. Software for the public good need not be a "public good" because it can be excludable and rivalrous A mango is excludable and rivalous, if i eat it you will not get it. but that does not mean that we cannot have two different mangoes. we can certainly have two mangoes or any number of mangoes as the number of people. government giving noon meal to kids is not "public good" It is free software but it need not, public software included', be non excludable or non rivalrous. But software with 4 freedoms is always a public good . it is free. it is non excludable and non rivalrous. you using the software will not affect my usage or restrict my usage . But Public software efinition you push make it both excludable and rivalrous So public software can be exactly that -NOT a public good In short Public software is NOT a public good, And the notion of public good you are pushing does not include the commons . Remember Software for commons will be always Free Software I suggest ITfc to withdraw from popularising this unwanted term . and join with FOSSCOMM in spreading the Proper Term with clarity Anivar -- "[It is not] possible to distinguish between 'numerical' and 'nonnumerical' algorithms, as if numbers were somehow different from other kinds of precise information." - Donald Knuth _______________________________________________ network mailing list [email protected] http://lists.fosscom.in/listinfo.cgi/network-fosscom.in
