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

[Paul Waring]

Dave Crossland wrote:
> > I think it's morally acceptable to run proprietory software
>
> I'm sorry to hear that, perhaps you can explain why?

Because I don't think there is anything morally wrong with running 
proprietory software. I personally would always choose to use free, open 
source and proprietory software in descending order of preference, 
provided that they accomplish the same task in a similar way (which is 
entirely subjective). I don't think *using* proprietory software when 
there is a job to be done and no acceptable alternative (which is the 
case for some applications) is morally wrong. I do think that the 
practice of forcing users into some form of vendor lock-in is morally 
wrong on the part of the software developers, but I don't agree that a 
user running proprietory software is morally wrong.

> You haven't refuted why using proprietary software is wrong (indeed, I
> don't believe you can without fallacy) and in the context of this
> thread - where Tim has asked for people to tell him what to do - I
> think stating my views in a "telling" way is appropriate.

I don't think you've put forward a convincing case for why using 
proprietory software is wrong, so I'm not sure why I would be under any 
obligation to refute it.

Paul

--
Paul Waring
http://www.pwaring.com