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> The benefits of Free Software is that if you want to get some software running on platforms the original author doesn't support but the language does, you can
by slondr 4y ago
> The benefits of Free Software is that if you want to get some software running on platforms the original author doesn't support but the language does, you can do that.
The exact cause of this entire controversy is that the software in question is switching to a language that supports less platforms.
- Karellen 4y agoHuh. I didn't read the article as being about the pyca/cryptography-on-rust controversy. I read it as using the pyca/cryptography-on-rust controversy as a jumping off point to discuss the difference between platforms-supported-by-the-toolchain, and platforms-supported-by-upstream-software, and whether users should expect to consider all platforms-supported-by-the-toolchain as being supported by all software written for that toolchain. Or not. And how far authors should go to help users on "niche" platforms they don't have access to. (Might be the 2.5 rewrites making it easy for different readers to come away with different conclusions?)
- sophacles 4y agoAnd? They don't (and never have) promised you guarantees that future versions would work in your use case. It's open source - you are welcome to use the last version that worked for your case, and if you want to change it and get new features, you can fork it. You got a hand from someone who built a thing you can use and gave it to you for free. This doesn't obligate them to continue to help you, there's no contract (implicit or explicit), and there's no warranty. It's your choice (or maybe obligation) to have your software work for your case, you agreed to it. If you made that agreement based on the assumption that someone else will keep giving you effort for free, the only problem when they say "no" is your bad assumption.