2 ms·
I think Free software has lost. Open Source is a far more popular brand (thanks to big tech, no surprise there) and it's designed to keep Free software ideas di
by kristoff_it 6y ago
I think Free software has lost. Open Source is a far more popular brand (thanks to big tech, no surprise there) and it's designed to keep Free software ideas digestible by corporations.
Big tech has learned how to keep Free software at bay, to the point that loving or hating the FSF doesn't matter anymore. It's irrelevant.
> I'm sad they can't learn to love GNU projects.
I think you don't realize how this sentence comes across. In some ways, it's an extremely concise way of describing why the FSF has failed.
- vinceguidry 6y agoI can see how you think this way, if you're only thinking in terms of popularity. Let me reiterate. The FSF does legal and advocacy work. You're only thinking in terms of advocacy. The legal work is just as important, without it, we wouldn't be able to use GPL licenses at all. Big tech didn't accomplish it's goal of killing the FSF itself. The one org standing in its way of complete dominance. It's not a battle of ideas, it's a battle of people. All it takes is a core group of people willing to put their money and time into it to keep it alive. Stallman himself said he never thought free software would ever become a thing and that the FSF has succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. As long as the GPL continues to be a viable alternative, we will continue to have a bastion against the endless waves of proprietary software.
- pabs3 6y agoOpen Source has lost too, lots of folks these days take it to just mean public/shared source, no matter what the license is.