First things first:
I am first a USER. And as a USER, the software must respect me as a USER! Not
every USER wants or needs or even knows HOW TO CHANGE A SOFTWARE. But the
USER knows that he does not want malicious features on the software that he
is running. The USER knows that he does not want to break the law by using
illegally shared (pirated) software. The USER knows he wants to be secure
from attacks from hackers. The USER wants to be respected as a USER! Not as a
programmer. So, the FIRST thing that I believe is necessary for a software to
be truly Free Software, is that it has NO MALICIOUS FEATURES IMPLEMENTED. Of
course the only way to make sure there are no such things, is to make the
code available so the USER can have a trusted PROGRAMMER analyze the code and
tell him if there are or are not malicious features. Of course, the
PROGRAMMER wants to be able to correct a bug/malicious feature, if he finds
one. And so, for the software to be respectufl for the PROGRAMMER, it must
allow him to CHANGE the code, and even fork the project if he wants to. That
is the point here, we have two different types of persons, USERS and
PROGRAMMERS. That is why I say that PRODUCING PROPIRETARY SOFTWARE is not
evil, nor unethical. It's way more evil and unethical to produce free
software that has some malicious feature, hoping no one will notice (adblock
plus was an example, what they did with "acceptable ads" was a violation of
the trust and freedom of their USERS).
Now, as a USER it is my choice to use free or proprietary software. And if I
am against using proprietary software (and believe, I get into enormous
arguments with friends and family over it...), is because I try to keep
myself informed in what happens around the world and know that many companies
are using the closed source proprietary software to do malicious things! I
think it's STUPID to use proprietary software, but I don't think that it is
WRONG. And honestly, if I was to start a bussiness producing proprietary
software, with no malicious feature, it would be my right, to make money by
producing high quality software that I decided to keep private. It's a right
of me as a person, and everyone around should respect that (by not trying to
illegally share (pirate) my software) and decide if they wanted to trust me.
Honestly, I don't know if there is any license in the world that says:
"Software X is property of person A, and it comes with the source code.
Everyone is free to use it, share it and study the source code, but any
changes must be suggested to person A, and he will decide if he will include
it or not. Sharing any kind of modified version is a violation."
Now, is it such a wrong thing? I admit it would not be the best, since many
bugs would go unpatched, but let's be honest.......... I disagre with
Trisquel not having ufw installed by default. I mentioned this and other
people have done so too. Did Trisquel changed its decision because of me? No.
So, in the end, free software STILL impacts the USER (again, USER, not
PROGRAMMER) freedom. I am not saying that it is bad, and I am NOT ATACKING
TRISQUEL OR THE TEAM BEHIND IT! I am just saying, that anyone who is running
a project (commercial or not) needs and wants to have some kind of control
over the project. And we must respect that. Of course, being this a community
driven software, Trsiquel team should take in consideration peoples
suggestions and ideas, and they do! Many times, problem with proprietary
software is that companies don't take those in consideration.
Having said that, I love the GPL license and I encourage everyone who wants
to do some good in the world, to use it. GPL licenses protect everyones
freedom and rights. But I don't think that being GPL is enough to make
software, free software. Software must be free, first in the code, after that
in the license. Also, if a person wants to make a living out of writing
software, I believe we (and the FSF!!!!) should work on making that a
possibility. Giving the person who created a software, RIGHTS, while still
protecting the USERS security and freedom.
Treverend, to you I will say this: use free software only, or you will lose
your security privacy and freedom. But don't think that by only using free
software you have already achieved those... YOu have just taken a step on
their direction =)
Proprietary drivers, flash, java, skype... Have been proven to be dangerous.
So, by using Trisquel (which has a free software only passion) you are
protecting yourself in some ways. But as I said, that would require that you
were a PROGRAMMER to be able to check the code line after line. If you are
not, you should still be vigilant, because a free license must have some bug
or malicious feature that noone has noticed, and it might affect your
Trisquel operating system.
