Conversation
Notices
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@neimzr4luzerz "free software", to folks unfamiliar with #FSF usage, implies *both* 'free of charge' and 'free to use, share, modify etc"
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@neimzr4luzerz since code has no use value until it is compiled into software I think "free code" pretty clearly implies "free as in speech"
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@strypey #FreeSoftware is not _necessarily_ free of charge, but in practice there's the Internet. I've written lots of free software for people and charged them for it. Not enough, which is why I don't do it any more. https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/selling.html
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@mjd don't write free code or don't charge people for it? I saw one project that GPL licensed but charged a one-off free for binaries...
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@strypey Most software written is custom (or customised) software for a single customer. En passant, bug fixes & new features for dependencies get sent upstream gratis because why not? The "programmers will starve!" argument is for trivial edge cases like #Microsoft.
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@strypey If you're smarter and more dedicated than me and maintain a significant free software project, odds are there are people who desperately want a new feature. Fine: libre for all, gratis for all but that first customer.
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@strypey Actually, the personal lesson learned, after ~10 years, is don't start a business if you aren't competent to run a business. Libre/gratis didn't enter into the multiple points of failure.
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