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We need more of Richard Stallman's ideas, not less (ploum.net)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Richard Stallman was right since the very beginning. Every warning, every prophecy realised. And, worst of all, he had the solution since the start. The problem is not Richard Stallman or the Free Software Foundation. The problem is us. The problem is that we didn’t listen.

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[–] Freesoftwareenjoyer 1 points 1 year ago

Free/Libre Software solves this too. One of the 4 rights that it gives you is the right to distribute. So if AutoCad was Libre Software, any mechanical engineer could legally get a copy for free, from someone else. But this is only one problem in our society. We also want to be able to control our computers and in order to do that, we need to be able to control the software that runs on them. Otherwise our devices are not uder our control, but under control of corporations. Someone who developed a program might not have your best interest in mind. On the other hand spyware, DRM and other unethical practices are usually pointless to add to Libre Software, because anyone can remove them from a program and share this modified version with others. This benefits everyone, not just programmers.

Nobody says that Libre Software can't be commercial. Corporations can make Libre Software and sell it. Just because most Libre Software is released for free, doesn't mean people can't charge money for it.

Perhaps FreeCAD isn't as good as AutoCAD. That's a shame, but there are other areas where Free Software is just as good or better compared to proprietary alternatives. Blender is one example and it is available for free and funded entirely through donations from users and companies.