Subj : Re: GNU Public Licences Revisited (again) To : comp.programming From : Chris Sonnack Date : Wed Aug 24 2005 12:26 pm gswork@mailcity.com writes: > i would be interested in what sets programming applications apart > from such undertakings as writing books, making movies, fashion > design and so on which share with programming in that they are > largely products of thinking and knowledge and don't have > particularly large material inputs... Or outputs. I agree, and I have to say that I find the idea of all software being "free" to be truly dain bread. I released a lot of free utilities (back in the days of BBSes), but it was my *choice* to do so. I don't begrudge incomes of actors, authors or designers because their output is ephemeral and easily copied. The legal contract a lawyer produces is easily photocopied--does that mean it should have been freely produced? If anything, I believe that as software development achieves its rightful recognition in society, if anything, the trend will be towards commercialization and applied quality standards and away from the idea of "free". -- |_ CJSonnack _____________| How's my programming? | |_ http://www.Sonnack.com/ ___________________| Call: 1-800-DEV-NULL | |_____________________________________________|_______________________| .