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To backtrack a little on the last point, there are plenty of things in the world where the right thing to do is to fight against it- racism, ethnic cleansing, e
by mwfunk 13y ago
To backtrack a little on the last point, there are plenty of things in the world where the right thing to do is to fight against it- racism, ethnic cleansing, etc. But I just fundamentally, axiomatically do not see anything related to how software is written and distributed as being one of those things. Part of the reason this topic always leads to flamewars is that the core, fundamental disagreement ("is using and/or distributing proprietary software unethical or immoral?") always comes down to the debaters having different gut feelings about the issue that cannot be logically determined. It's similar to the abortion debate in that respect- someone who is convinced that all abortion is murder is not ever going to be convinced otherwise, because the topic descends into different people's axioms about morality that cannot be further decomposed into statements that can be logically debated.
- vezzy-fnord 13y agoBut I just fundamentally, axiomatically do not see anything related to how software is written and distributed as being one of those things. It's simple. I don't know about a "fundamental, axiomatic" proof, but the situation is that proprietary software is obscurantist in its nature and is in direct conflict with information dissemination and the openness that we herald our computing and the Internet as being so important for. Our society is destined to be dominated by digital technology and computers. All facets of our lives will become digitized and as a result, the ones who control our computing control the way we live. Proprietary software is tantamount to slavery, where the users are helpless and unable to exert control over the technology that governs them.