Re: [Fsfe-uk] Free Software Magazine got cheaper

[Lee Braiden]

On Saturday 12 March 2005 10:45, Sam Liddicott wrote:
> Lee Braiden wrote:
> >No, but as a member of the free software community, I'd offer to write an
> >article once in a while, and if maybe to mirror a public distribution site
> > or at least to run a bittorrent seed.  The only time you need
> > corporate-style finances and resources is when you choose to be a
> > top-down distribution and enforcement organisation.  To me, that's not
> > what free software is about.
>
> Well free software is about being able to modify and improve designs and
> share those designs.

That is one aspect of it, but there are many others, such as the ability to 
actually get the sourcecode and build it yourself.

> It would be a pretty dull magazine if each issue 
> was an incremental revision of the previous issue.

That would be a strange periodical indeed.  I certainly never suggested that 
approach.

> Presuming there are enough people who want to write an article, somebody
> else needs to select articles. A better quality publication attracts
> more submissions and takes more selection.

Naturally.  But if you substitute "articles" with "patches", this statement 
could apply to any big free software project, such as the Linux kernel.  I 
fail to see your point.

> AFAIK many top kernel contributors and maintainers have someone with
> enough interest to pay their wages.

Well, if you think that Linux would not have succeeded without people paying 
the developer's wages, I think you've got it backwards.  People pay wages to 
Linux developers BECAUSE it has succeeded AS Free Software.

> I want the magazine to keep existing 
> each month. If a guy needs wages to do this magazine, I am happy to
> contribute because I get my moneys worth.

I would rather have another guy write an article for an interest and concern 
in the subject, rather than for pay.  It happens on Kuro5hin.org many times a 
day, and on sites all over the internet.

> It is a nice ideal for the world to be the kind of world we think it
> should be, sometimes financial support makes this ever so much more
> likely in very specific ways.

Financial support can be a good incentive, yes.  There are better incentives 
though, such as belief in a cause, the desire to educate others, sheer 
excitement about a topic, altruism, genuine interest in discussing an 
important point, simple community spirit, etc.


Anyway, I'm not trying to convert anyone to my way of thinking, so I'll drop 
it here.


-- 
Lee.