Re: What does "libre" refer to in the context of a software license?

On 29/06/2026 19:21, Mike Easter wrote:
> p-0 0-h the cat (coder) wrote:
>> they come to tell us how much better they are than us scummy users of 
>> 'proprietary' software,
> 
> Well, 'they' shouldn't do that.
> 
> There is good and bad proprietary and there is good and bad open and 
> there are advantages and disadvantages to dev/ing software 'both' 
> different ways.
> 
> One complicating feature of open is the *variety* of copyleft licensing, 
> of which *you* have much better insight than the rest of us, because you 
> have chosen to involve yourself in its understanding more than most.
> 
> It IS true that linux fans LUV open source and tend to 'follow' the old 
> arguments found in ES Raymond's '99 Cathedral/Bazaar book and previously.
> 
> There's plenty of room for development in both spheres.

Look Mike, what I really care about is the sheer cost to the world of 
this form of software licensing.

It's driven by this idea that if you give something away for free you 
should get something back. That you can put obligations into the license 
that stops big business [in particular] from making money out of it 
unless they 'give something back'. Pinky anti corporate nonsense. Has 
that worked, maybe, a bit, certainly not completely, and what is the 
result. See below for the benefits of permissive licensing. It has 
worked however disproportionately against the little people.

Permissive licenses let everybody make money out of the software.

I've been arguing for years that just giving it away benefits everybody 
and hurts no one.

More businesses, more jobs, more wealth, more products, cheaper 
products, better products, products that help people.

The cumulative effect of that on direct wealth creation and the trickle 
down would have been enormous. Is enormous. In fact you can see how the 
world has changed since the balance of copyleft to permissive licensing 
has moved in favor of permissive in recent years.

You don't need to be an economist to get this, it's a back of a fag 
packet calc.

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