[CS-FSLUG] Morals of free software - Was: RevolutionOS Movie

[Bob Brown]

I would say that ethical "right" and "wrong" do not truly appear in
software licenses.

Licenses can grant or restrict freedoms, but in the end you decide
whether or not the software is worth the licensing. If the software
provides something wonderful, but restricts your usage in a minor way
then it evaluates as good for you.
However, the worst software on the face of the earth cannot be
redeemed simply because you like the freedom in the license.

Licensing choice is not a pure ethics based decision on the part of
the user, unless you are some sort of fundamentalist with serious
issues, it is a decision of what works for you.

As a minister, first and foremost, I do consider morals and Chrsitian
ethics in my decisions. I'm not always good at it, but I try to
consider everything in that light.

I appreciate free software, both gratis and libre, but it is not the
core of my beliefs. I would give up both for the sake of my ministry
if it was necessary. Yes, that sounds like a silly choice to have to
make and I doubt it would occur, but that is the order of my
priorities in action. I have no doubts that anyone here serious about
their Christian service would make the same decision.

I know very little about Stallman, but the little I know puts me off
from wanting to be in too close of an association with him and some of
his ideas. I think he is bigoted and offensive to many ideals I hold,
but most people will acknowledge that and leave him be.

That really is a moral decision I had to make when it arose and I
consider that issue to be far more important than a few words inside
of a software license that say you cannot use it just any way you
please.

I am not saying that anyone who connects themselves with him is a bad
person. He is not the definition of evil any more than Microsoft is
(that statement will bug someone, I just know it). But I fell as
comfortable with him as he would probably feel sitting in a pew in
front of me when I preach this Sunday.
note: this will be my last Sunday preaching. After this I am heading
over for my new job with computers and security systems at my home
church :) yay




On 4/15/05, Robert W. wrote:
> Choosing "the best tool
> for the job" means choosing to ignore or accept the implications of a
> given license.
> 
> Isn't that a moral stance? The moral being: it helps *me*. This leads
> into the corrollary that the Bible lays out the standard for moral
> choices. Therefore, we should look at Bibilical principles when
> evaluating a software's license.