Armworm wrote: > If you're going to be that uptight about web freedom, you need to > stop browsing the web altogether. > > Web pages might not be software. But are they not a work of practical > use, which according to the FSF should carry the same rights as > software?
Some web pages are, others are not. Yes, some practical works, such as software documentation, should carry the same rights as the software because in some cases it is important for being able to run, understand and change the software. Otherwise, I think there is a need for reform so that private uses, non-commercial sharing and educational uses of software are always allowed. Private use is, unfortunately, being further limited with amendments to copyright laws. Some countries would like to make some forms of non-commercial sharing a criminal offence. Fair use and fair dealing might already allow educational use to some extent. > Yet the vast majority of the web is entirely copyrighted. Only a few > sites make their content free. So you need to stop browsing the web, > because every site is denying you a fundamental freedom for their > works of practical use. I don't think the reaction to non-free practical works or unjust copyright provisions needs to be the same as proprietary software. Proprietary software prevents a person or community from being able to control essentially part of their life, to the extent that they rely on the software. The nature of proprietary software is, in many cases, self-propagating, e.g. protocols and formats that can only be read or used by proprietary software encourages more users to participate and become dependant. I don't think the same can be said about other practical works. If I share a copyrighted news story (as in the full text, not just the link) with a group of interested people and archive it, I might be infringing copyright, but it doesn't have the same effect on me as using proprietary software. There is certainly a case for encouraging free licensing of practical works and copyright reform, but I don't think that avoiding non-free works entirely is the solution. Andrew
