Stephen J. Turnbull writes: > >>>>> "Tim" == Tim O'Reilly <tim@oreilly.com> writes: > > Tim> I have to say I agree very much with what you've said here. > Tim> An "all or nothing" approach just hardens positions. I tend > Tim> to see lots of signs of people coming towards the free > Tim> software world, > > They're coming toward open source, which, though technically > equivalent in the license definition, is _very_ different in terms of > the dynamics. Note that many of the economic benefits that Eric > pushes apply to published but proprietary source code, as well as to > free software. I don't believe this to be true. The benefits derive from the freedom to fork. Remove that -- and all proprietary code removes the freedom to fork -- and you remove the benefits as well. Very simple test case: BSDI. Shared source business model, long before Microsoft ever "invented" the idea. And they even did it right, by allowing BSDi customers to share source with each other. So, how successful was BSDi over Walnut Creek, which served as the commercial publisher of FreeBSD. Or Wasabi Systems, which is a NetBSD publisher. > Tim> We need to encourage signs that people are moving in the > Tim> right direction, towards openness, even if they aren't all > Tim> the way there. > > True, there is a need. But should serving that need be in the charter of > this list? Especially when their goal is almost certainly not "free," > and never will be? I think that the problem of running a business > based on free (by the strict definition) software is interesting, > important, and relevant to enough developers to deserve its own list. > That's what FSB is, right? That's always been the idea. You can see the first message to the list by sending mail to fsb-get#0@crynwr.com. > We need a separate list for the purpose of encouraging movement toward > openness by people who are starting from proprietary. I wish the term > "open source" hadn't been coopted as a marketing ploy. It's the > perfect name: "Open Source Software Business." Maybe "Published Source > Software Business" is a good enough alternative? Why not "Shared Source Software Business"? You'd get a lot of subscribers @microsoft.com. -- -russ nelson will be speaking at http://www.osdn.com/conferences/handhelds/ Crynwr sells support for free software | PGPok | Mailing lists should not set 521 Pleasant Valley Rd. | +1 315 268 1925 voice | Reply-To: back to the list! Potsdam, NY 13676-3213 | +1 315 268 9201 FAX | http://russnelson.com/rt.html