Indeed. Given a choice between a patent-free file I can't listen to, and a patented-up-the-wazoo format I can listen to, I'll pick the latter. And, in case FSF

Indeed. Given a choice between a patent-free file I can't listen to, and a patented-up-the-wazoo format I can listen to, I'll pick the latter. And, in case FSF hasn't been paying attention, WebM isn't looking too unencumbered right now. If Ogg ever becomes economically significant, it will probably end up in the same boat. As others have said, we need to balance idealism and practicality. E.g. providing real audio feeds (which many NPR shows and the BBC used to) is Just Plain Stupid. But while MP3 may not be perfect it (a) works (b) everywhere and (c) doesn't cost the end-user anything.