Re: [Fsuk-manchester] the non-free neighbour asking for help dilemma

[Iain Roberts]

----- "Dave Crossland" <address@hidden> wrote:
> 2008/5/5 Chris H. <address@hidden>:
> > 5., may. 2008, 23.06 - Iain Roberts:
> >>
> >> The freedoms of Free Software are freedoms for *him* as the user. 
> That's
> >> great and I'm all for them.  But what about his freedom to run the
> software
> >> he wants and works for him?
> >>
> >> Why do you feel that it's morally good for him to be free to
> redistribute,
> >> improve, study and run a program for any purpose, but morally bad
> for him to
> >> be able to choose to run proprietary software if it's the best tool
> for the
> >> job?
> 
> You are conflating freedom with convenience.
> 
> It is morally bad for him to choose to run proprietary software, even
> if it's very convenient, because they are giving up their freedom and
> that effects him (because he no longer the aspect of his life he uses
> the software for) and everyone else (because he promises not to
> share,
> and makes it less convenient for others to reject that software.)

I can't agree, Dave.  

As a liberal, I believe that it's not morally wrong for people to act in such 
as way as to harm themselves.  If he chooses to constrain what he can do with 
software, it's not my business to tell him not to, just as it's not my business 
to tell him to give up smoking or drinking for his own good.  (And that assumes 
that he *does* harm himself in some way by choosing proprietary software, which 
I very much doubt).

As for affecting others - it simply doesn't (not in the real world, anyway).  
How does his choosing to run Windows make any difference at all to my ability 
to run Linux, OpenOffice or anything else?  Does it make it harder for me to 
download them from the Internet?  If someone comes to him and asks for a word 
processor, his answer might be "I can't let you have Microsoft Word, but you 
can download OOo from the website".  How is that different from the answer he'd 
give if he were running OOo?

Free software is good.  I like having those freedoms and I choose to have them 
in most cases.  Choosing proprietary software isn't morally bad, though - it's 
just a personal choice.


Iain

-- 
Iain Roberts
Axiom Tech
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