Benefits of software freedom [LWN.net]

From:		gralex-AT-free.fr
To:		letters-AT-lwn.net
Subject:		Benefits of software freedom
Date:		Fri, 08 Dec 2006 15:21:48 +0100

Dear LWN,

I've been reading with interest the GNOME Foundation board election article and
the statements from the candidates for the positions. However, I felt I
couldn't disagree more on the views of one of them: Joachim Noreiko. You quote
him as saying:

"What freedoms exactly? The computer users I know can't code. What are they
going to with the source code they have the freedom to modify?"

That is absolutely wrong. It's like stating that if you're not a journalist, you
don't benefit from freedom of press. I'm not a coder, but I benefit greatly from
free software. In the same way that I benefit from high-quality articles in the
newspapers I read because the journalists can do their job freely. The
developers who work on free software are free to develop as they wish and
benefit from each other's openness and the end-product is good, thus benefiting
everyone.

And there's also the added benefit that because the development process is open,
I can learn from it and all the best practices that can be applied to software
development. So I can get involved at my own level.

Regards,

Alexandre

(Log in to post comments)

Benefits of software freedom

Posted Dec 14, 2006 18:14 UTC (Thu) by mrshiny (subscriber, #4266) [Link]

I agree; computer users with source code (and the implied freedom of being able to modify and use that source code) are more free; even if individual users can't modify the code themselves it is often easy for one coder to modify the code and share it with everyone.

Benefits of software freedom

Posted Dec 14, 2006 21:48 UTC (Thu) by grouch (subscriber, #27289) [Link]

How does someone campaign for a leadership position on a GPL project without understanding the benefits of source to non-coding users?

Here's another concrete example of a non-coding user getting great benefit from having the source available:

The Value of Free Software, by DC Parris.

free software ~ free press

Posted Dec 14, 2006 23:48 UTC (Thu) by rfunk (subscriber, #4054) [Link]

Thank you for the great analogy!

Benefits of software freedom

Posted Dec 24, 2006 10:22 UTC (Sun) by Tao (guest, #24985) [Link]

Great analogy?
Does "freedom of press" mean Journalists can freely copy/modify/distribute other journalists' work?
Or that developers are censored and cannot code with free will unless they're developing "Free Software"?

Happy holidays, folks.

Benefits of software freedom

Posted Dec 28, 2006 1:12 UTC (Thu) by kornak (guest, #17589) [Link]

Perhaps a better analogy would be the freedom one enjoys when purchasing an
automobile. I would be distressed indeed if I could not open the engine's
hood. Even though I rarely inspect the engine even to change the oil, I am
still free to do so and indeed I may choose my own mechanic to inspect it
rather than being forced to use the original manufacturer to maintain MY
vehicle.

Benefits of software freedom

Posted Jan 9, 2007 12:56 UTC (Tue) by Tr0n (guest, #42662) [Link]

Actually - isn't it more like gettnig one car which works, and pieces to a car which you have to put together yourself?

This takes up more space, and is not needed(*) or usually desired by an end user(**).

I do agree that having the source code available is good - but requiring to send it with the compiled end-binary is a bit over the top.

(*) As far as I know, you do not need the source to run any compiled application. I could be wrong.
(**) End users, are those which either are Mr.Joe Bloggs or developers who do not wish to change that product (I don't see the need for an audio/visual coder to have the source code for say GPG, Gnome, KDE, or anything else unrelated to his product).