Thursday, January 18, 2007

Mark, we need arrive at a clearer definition of the word free...

Because it's really starting to bother me that you say the word 'free' as if you don't know there are two distinct meanings in the open source ecosystem. I will choose freedom before I choose free beer. Let's call your definition of free 'FREE' and we'll call mine 'free'.

While I think it's important to many people that things are FREE I believe the greater good is freedom. Freedom to tinker, break, improve and understand. I'm worried you think that if everyone just starts using FREE software the world will be a better place. I posit that if the world (for some definition of 'world') understood the freedoms that come with free software and used it to it's full potential the world would indeed be a better place. From what I've seen on the net recently the EU might be starting to understand this.

Let's put our motives aside and not label companies that have made great contributions to freedom as not 'FREE'. The truth is Mark the freedom is in the source.

http://www.markshuttleworth.com/archives/77

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