The Invisible Hand

[David Johnson]

On Saturday 29 September 2001 22:20, Matthew C. Weigel wrote:

> The FSF and OSI distance themselves from one another politically, and
> advocates of one over another disagree, but NO ONE says the things you
> are ascribing to them.

Double checking to make sure I'm not getting signals crossed from an 
alternate reality... nope.

Some RMS quotes from www.gnu.org [with my emphasis added]:

"Years ago, free software developers noticed this discomfort reaction, and 
some started exploring an approach for _avoiding_ it. They figured that by 
_keeping_quiet_ about ethics and freedom, and talking only about the 
immediate practical benefits of certain free software, they might be able to 
``sell'' the software more effectively to certain users, especially business."

"At present, we have plenty of ``keep quiet'', but not enough freedom talk."

"We are not against the Open Source movement, but we don't want to be 
_lumped_in_ with them."

And some from a LTTE to DDJ, April 2001:

"GNU is a part of the Free Software Movement and has _nothing_to_do_ with the 
Open Source Movement."

"The Open Source Movement was founded in 1998 specifically to _reject_ our 
idealist philosophy. They cite _only_ practical advantages such as ''power, 
reliable software'' as the basis for everything they say, and studiously 
_avoid_ deeper issues such as freedom and principle."

-- 
David Johnson
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