Let me tell you a story....
Its about a man, a young man, full of potential, one of the most intelligent
men in the world. He is a part of a small group of programmers, people who
like to create programs and share them with each other. They use a system
called UNIX. UNIX is a free system, they have lots of joy using and changing
it. Until one day, UNIX is closed sourced, and a big bad company tries to
take over the world by controling every computer in the world, and charging
ENORMOUS amounts of money from poor students who need to run UNIX.
OH, the terror!! Students won't be able to learn anymore! Computers will
become less fun, and only rich people will have access to them!
But wait.... our man is still there! And he has a choice to make....
He is very intelligent. He can easily take a binary of the closed sourced
system and decompile back to the source! He can change what he doesn't like
and even share it with his friends without the big bad company knowing!
Students won't have to pay, they will just have to be secretive and deceitful
and use a "borrowed" version of UNIX, that "is not working right, because
does things other UNIX systems don't do" and "not remember who they borrowed
it from". He is very inteligent he can make it happen!
But our man, makes a diferent decision.
He decides to respect the will of the big bad company of closing the system,
and he decides to create a new system!
"You want UNIX all for yourselves and want to make piles of money? Do so! I
will help my neighboor by creating something new!"
And so, the man started creating GNU. Gnu is not Unix. It's compatible with
UNIX ("we are not trying to force people to choose between UNIX or GNU, they
can use both, we want to make them compatible, so people are free to
interact!", the man says) but it's something NEW and TRULY FREE!
Students can now, thanks to the man choice, learn at low cost again, and the
man actually made some new friends! New programmers who also wanted to create
something new, joined him and they all share software again, just like
before! =)
Through his work, the man made a MAJOR social impact! Worldwide, people are
no longer slaves of UNIX, new bussinesses can now be started without being
stopped by money issues to buy software. Students can learn at low cost. And
programmers can still be friends, by sharing. And because UNIX and GNU are
compatible, people who work on UNIX stations can now make a living with UNIX,
and on their free time create new programs to add to GNU. Until we have
enough free software...
BUT WAIT! That's not the end of the story.
The man, did something even more important. He had already decided to respect
the big bad company and not steal their software. But now, he wanted to make
sure that GOOD laws would prevent anyone from stopping and destroying GNU. So
he created a license, that protects free software forever! What, a license
that doesn't restrict you, but frees you? Who would have thought! Really,
only a man who was determined enough to make a BETTER WORLD, instead of being
a corrupt among the others, could have had such vision!
So, now, thanks to the fact that the man did not choose the easy way (the
wrong way) but decided that he would create a better world (a new world) we
can sing
"WE HAVE ENOUGH FREE SOFTWARE, AND WE REJECT THOSE DIRTY LICENSES"
You are running Trisquel, because 30 years ago Richard Stallman decided NOT
to "illegally share" UNIX, but to create something new, GNU. And you have
licenses to argue over, because he respected copyrights laws, and created a
license that protects free software. And because he didn't share UNIX, but
created GNU, UNIX is no more! Really, who uses UNIX and pays AT&T a fee??? No
one! And that's because he didn't kept on using somehting that he felt was
wrong. He created something new, free, something better, something... right.
Microsoft and Windows are still outthere because people are still giving them
power by using their product (even if they don't pay for it). Hollywood still
rules, because people keep on giving them credit by going the extra mile to
steal their movies and watch it. The list could go on...
So don't try to make me believe that pirate software or music or books or
whatever, is good. It's not only wrong, but it's also DANGEROUS for us.
Because everytime someone illegally shares a music, he prevents himself from
creating a new one. Everytime someone pirates a software, he prevents himself
from writing a new free one. Everytime someone shares something illegally,
somehting that will never be truly free to use, he prevents the creation of
something new, good, free. Everytime you share an illegal copy of UNIX, you
destroy all copies of GNU. Would have happened in the 80s. And can (is)
happening right now.
Do you think the law is wrong? Change it! Do something like RMS did, instead
of living your life eating crumbs from the floor of those who create things!
Truth is, that everytime we treat the newer hollywood blockbuster like
somehting we could never life without, even if we have to steal in order to
have it, we say to the government that we no longer care about things like
Public Domain, Creative Commons, fan creations, etc. So we kill those things,
and we enforce the idea that DRM are a necessary evil.
Look, I know I only replied to your last statments, but the truth is.... that
this is the opinion very different very personal that I have been talking
about. I know noone will probably agree with me, that watching a pirate movie
is a step towards destroying Public DOmain and Creative Commons... But it's
the truth, and I know I am right on this one. And just like RMS, I intend to
live in the way that I feel is the only ethical way to live. Don't expect me
to support piracy. And don't expect me to support the idea that attacking
those who create proprietary software is the answer. Rejecting it and not
using is the answer, but that is a choice of the USER, and we as users should
be free to choose. And if someone wants to use Windows... it's his own right
and choice. JUst don't expect me to chat with him in Skype ;)
Microsoft and Apple are evil, not because they make proprietary software, but
because they put malicious features in their products. Don't give them more
power by attacking them. Just ignore them and follow your own path. The path
of someone who wants to be free, and who knows that his freedom came from
creating new things, instead of "sharing old shits".
