[SLUG] Next Meeting

[Ian Eade at IGM]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: scarborough-bounces at mailman.lug.org.uk 
> [mailto:scarborough-bounces at mailman.lug.org.uk] On Behalf Of 
> Mark Gates
> Sent: 31 March 2004 13:25
> To: scarborough at mailman.lug.org.uk
> Subject: RE: [SLUG] Next Meeting
> 
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> 
> Looks good Al
> 
> A couple of things:
> 
> 1. Goverments - Governments
> 2. ... for free - implying that it is financially free 
> whereas it is intellectually free and typically gratis 
> (financially free). In the context of OSS free and gratis 
> hold two distinct meanings. Maybe:
> 
> You too could be using the gratis software used by 
> Governments, Schools, NASA, ISP's etc
> 
> Ian
> ---
> 
> Hi all,
> 
> I'm new to this newsgroup format/procedure so please don't 
> shout at me if I get the format wrong.
> 
> Just a quick word on the poster idea. I think the original 
> "free" wording is better from a "lay-persons" point of view. 
> If the point of the poster is to attract people then I can't 
> think of a better word than free. Call me thick if you like 
> but in my mind "gratis" has to be translated to "free", 
> "free" is already "free".
> 
> Mark Gates
> (getting ready to pack his bags)
> 
> 
> ---


Valid point regarding the word "free", especially for the lay-person.
Not one to call you "thick" or anything else, as with most things it’s a
matter of context. If you have not already packed your bags here is an
extract from my Dissertation which addresses the issue of the ambiguity
of the word free in an OSS context. 



8.1 The ambiguity of the word free.
An important yet often missed issue in understanding the fundamental
concept of
open-source software is the ambiguous usage of the word "free". You will
commonly
see phrases like "Acme's web server software is a free Open Source
program", after
first reading this phrase your initial impression is liable to be that
you can obtain the
program at no monetary cost. However the word free in the English
language can
mean one of two things:

1. Financially free whereby the product can be obtained at no monetary
cost,
namely that it is gratis
2. Liberty free, like free speech whereby you are at liberty to express
your points
of view

When the word free is used in the context of open-source software it
refers to the
freedom of liberty, as in the fact that after obtaining the software you
are at liberty to
freely view, modify and edit the source code. This ambiguity of the word
"free" was
recognised by the Free Software Foundation who after deliberation chose
to use the
term "Open Source" instead. (Raymond, 2002).

It is recommended that when referring to open-source software all
references to the
actual monetary costs of the software which should be referred to as
"gratis". 
Therefore for the above mentioned phrase to read correctly and without
any ambiguity 
it ought to be written in one of two ways:

1. "Acme's software application is a free open-source program". To mean
that
you are at liberty to freely view, edit and distribute the source code
(at least
within the confines of the programs software license), even though there
may
or may not be a monetary cost involved in obtaining the program
2. "Acme’s software application is a gratis open-source program" . To
mean that
you can obtain the program for no monetary cost. Bearing in mind that
given
the programs Open Source nature you are inherently at liberty to freely
view,
edit and distribute the source code (once again, at least within the
confines of
the programs software license)




Maybe now you'd like to pack your bags? Or I can send you all 135 pages
of 

The Cathedral and the Bazaar:
Proposing a comparative framework
being a dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of
the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science
in the University of Hull
by
Ian Eade
October 2003
135 pages of OSS and Proprietary madness

Some bleeders gotta read it! - LOL


Ian





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