and me, as a pacifist...
and me, as a pacifist...
Posted Oct 31, 2002 18:03 UTC (Thu) by rfunk (subscriber, #4054)In reply to: and me, as a pacifist... by brugolsky
Parent article: Study: free software in the U.S. Department of Defense
> Do you believe in militant force when you and your family are being held
> hostage in a theatre in Moscow? Should the Moscow police be allowed to use
> your software?
Not if they're going to gas me to death when they try to save me....
Posted Nov 7, 2002 16:05 UTC (Thu)
by whitleych (guest, #6866)
[Link]
But try to remember things like the BSD license which precluded the use by South African police, circumstances change. Bad guys today may not be tomorrow. Some corporations may do more to damage the general population with less restriction than the U.S. military (environmental issues, unfair labor practices, etc). This is not indicating that the military is great, just that "any" large organization can have it's abuses and/or negative impact.
The results do not surprise me. Budgets are always tight for the military (at least at the local level). As for wondering if you want your software being used by the military, did you also ask yourself if you wished to use software improved by the military? Usually the path is in both directions. ARPA is a prime example..... I admit that it is a valid question however and one that only you can answer for yourself. DOD and FOSS
Regards
Cecil