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Story: Sun 'distorts' definition of free software

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I wrote my comment in the context of the article, which specifically revolves around the quote "if you want to reach the broadest marketplace in the world there's one price that works for everyone, and that's free".

It is the article itself that is lacking the context of the original statement. He made the statement so the audience would understand where he was coming from. It may not match the focus of FOSS in your mind, or even the minds of most of his audience, and he fully understands that. He therefore makes this statement so that he isn't misunderstood to be coming from a philosophically "pure" direction.

To say the users are irrelevant to this discussion is the biggest fallacy I have heard in a long time. The users are EVERYTHING. Without the users, the software has no reason to exist, regardless of its platform, or its licensing model. (To ignore that fact is to follow the road of the Libertarian Party, many of whose members stress philosophical purity to the exclusion of the majority of voters' opinions, thus alienating the very people they hope to help. As a Libertarian, this disappoints me, and I work constantly to change their outlook.)

Firefox is taking off like a rocket. Why? Because it is open source? No. It is becoming successful because it meets the users' needs better than IE, and it is free.

In a way, people's attitude toward the importance of "free as in speech" reflects their attitude towards free speech itself - It is taken for granted. This is really too bad, because it is just as endangered by powerful interests as FOSS software.

I understand the need for free speech. I understand the need for FOSS software to remain "free as in speech". I also understand the realities of the world, and the importance to "the average Joe" of the "free as in beer" aspect. The militant FOSS community advocates need to understand this as well, otherwise your movement will join the Libertarian Party on the fringes of relevance.

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