Eben Moglen on Software Freedom (Was: Re: [dundee] OLPC Videos...niiiiiiiiiice!)

[Rick]

On 22/01/2008, Rick <rick.moynihan at gmail.com> wrote:
> Open Source was a term championed Eric Raymond and others as a means
> to take the politics, ideals and radicalism out of Free Software and
> the Free Software Movement whilst trying to preserve the pragmatics
> found in their development practices, communities, and licenses.
>
> So, to be classed as 'Open Source' you should conform to the Open
> Source Definition (above) (where you'll notice that all the GNU
> licenses are included).  This isn't however a legal requirement, so
> you should (regardless of the ideological distinction) always be aware
> of the license and the rights it grants and possibly waives.
>
> This transition is viewed by some as a way of making 'Free Software'
> palatable to business, and by others as removing the most important
> point - the focus on freedom (specifically Stallman's Four Freedoms)
>
> The Free Software Foundation's opinions on the distinction can be found here:
>
> http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-software-for-freedom.html
>
> I personally tend to think of Free Software as being a subset of the
> wider Open Source Movement.  Though the distinction can be
> ideologically important, in pure pragmatics it doesn't matter as
> regardless you need to consider what rights are granted to the code,
> and what restrictions and obligations are placed on it's use.

Given some of our discussions last night on Free/Open, I find some of
the best articulated rhetoric on the matter can be found in Eben
Moglen's speeches.  Without wanting to take anything away from RMS, I
personally find Eben a more powerful and convincing voice on the
matter.  If you're looking to learn more about the philosophy behind
the FLOSS movement then I'd recommend watching some of these videos:

http://video.google.co.uk/videosearch?q=eben+moglen&num=10&so=0&start=0

I'd also be interested in knowing how palatable Eben's arguments are
to those primarily involved in proprietary software.  Is he more
convincing than Stallman?

I'm sure some of you have seen this already, but those who haven't
might also like to watch the argument on stage at the Web2.0
conference (I think) between Tim O'Reilly and Eben.  Personally, I
have a lot of respect for both sides but enjoyed the argument all the
same:

http://radar.oreilly.com/archives/2007/08/my_tonguelashin.html


--
Rick Moynihan
rick.moynihan at gmail.com
http://sourcesmouth.co.uk/blog/