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Isn't the sentiment really about how end-user unfriendly a lot of open source is. It is generously shared but sometimes only within the community that already u
by benjaminjosephw 6y ago
Isn't the sentiment really about how end-user unfriendly a lot of open source is. It is generously shared but sometimes only within the community that already understands the conventions and has the technical/historic knowledge to make sense of it.
Generosity shouldn't be sneered on, I agree, but we also have to recognize that the audience for our code is significantly broader than it was in the days of the Free Software movement. It all stated as a movement to empower end-users but it seems that end-users sometimes don't always feel empowered by it.
- ponow 6y agoFree software is less about providing what users want ("free beer") than in not getting in their way by artificially restricting them in their dealing with the software ("freedom"). It's the difference between positive rights (to someone's labor, which is also known as servitude), and negative rights (freedom to use the software as you wish). End users who don't feel empowered by freedom aren't entitled to free labor. They should realize that at least they have the option to control the software they use by hiring someone to fix/alter it or learning enough to do it themselves, which is impossible for proprietary software.