[HN Gopher] Who does that server really serve? (2010)
___________________________________________________________________
Who does that server really serve? (2010)
Author : crazypython
Score : 45 points
Date : 2021-01-29 19:21 UTC (3 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.gnu.org)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.gnu.org)
| dang wrote:
| If curious see also
|
| 2019 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21378509
|
| 2014 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8799127
|
| Discussed at the time:
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1227694
| ashas451 wrote:
| The reads like a communist manifesto. Until we live in a post
| scarcity society it's unfair to suggest people should be denied
| profits from their work.
| crazypython wrote:
| Or you could use local software- Dictionary.app instead of the
| dictionary on Google. This article barely argues for free
| software. It's the Parler-AWS issue.
| throwaway-8-523 wrote:
| > "free software" is a matter of liberty, not price
|
| https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html
|
| This is also explained in the article, including a link to the
| page that defines "free" in this context.
| generalizations wrote:
| This looks like the thesis of the article:
|
| > Our solution to this problem is developing free software and
| rejecting proprietary software. Free software means that you,
| as a user, have four essential freedoms: (0) to run the program
| as you wish, (1) to study and change the source code so it does
| what you wish, (2) to redistribute exact copies, and (3) to
| redistribute copies of your modified versions.
|
| I'm not seeing how anyone is being denied profits. This seems
| focused on the user, and the choices the user should make,
| rather than the provider of the SaaS and what they ought or
| ought not to receive. Maybe I missed something?
|
| > Do your own computing with your own copy of a free program,
| for your freedom's sake.
| [deleted]
| DenseComet wrote:
| > Dealing with the SaaSS Problem
|
| > For the simple case, where you are doing your own computing on
| data in your own hands, the solution is simple: use your own copy
| of a free software application.
|
| > What if there is no free program available? A proprietary
| program or SaaSS would take away your freedom, so you shouldn't
| use those. You can contribute your time or your money to
| development of a free replacement.
|
| Statements like this are why GNU's and the FSF's arguments often
| fall apart. If someone wants to do something and free software is
| not available to help them achieve it, telling them to just not
| do it is not a good solution. Change requires compromise, and its
| counterproductive to hold such a firm stance.
| crazypython wrote:
| > If someone wants to do something and free software is not
| available to help them achieve it, telling them to just not do
| it is not a good solution.
|
| I would be better served if I quit my music addiction on
| proprietary YouTube. Some would be better served with a paper
| todo list than proprietary Google Tasks- which lost several of
| my todo items. Robinhood's users may have been better served
| not buying stocks at all. Almost all people are better served
| turning off proprietary ad software.
|
| My point is- when proprietary software is so much "better",
| maybe we don't need to "replace" it, because while it has
| short-term benefits, it has negative consequences lurking
| beneath.
|
| To directly address your argument, I think we need to come up
| business models that make free software just as profitable or
| more profitable than nonfree software.
___________________________________________________________________
(page generated 2021-01-29 23:01 UTC)