Essay RFC delayed.

Ali Assam aassam at knowledgeview.co.uk
Sun Aug 29 08:26:05 UTC 1999


Can you please take me of the list of license-discuss. I have made 3
applications already without auccess!
----- Original Message -----
From: Eric S. Raymond <esr at thyrsus.com>
To: Ean R . Schuessler <ean at novare.net>
Cc: Richard Stallman <rms at gnu.org>; <signal11 at mediaone.net>;
<license-discuss at opensource.org>
Sent: Friday, August 27, 1999 9:57 PM
Subject: Re: Essay RFC delayed.


> Ean R . Schuessler <ean at novare.net>:
> > You know, I think that this is where I must totally disagree with you.
> > Your contention that corporations have no notion of civic duty is both
> > a simple minded stereotype and fundamentally untrue. The notion of
shared
> > public infrastructures is neither new nor unappetizing to large
> > organizations.
>
> If you're so smart, why aren't *you* the person the Wall Street Journal
calls?
>
> I know that sounds pretty snotty.  I'm almost past caring that it does,
because
> I'm fed up with the inability of supposedly intelligent people to see past
> their idealism and their prejudices.
>
> Your alternative fails the reality test.  The shared-public-infrastructure
> argument has been tried; hell, I used to try it myself when I was as naive
as
> you are.  It doesn't work.  Never mind whether it's "right" or not.
That's not
> the issue here, and this consistent confusion between good ethics and good
> tactics is exactly your problem (and RMS's).
>
> Wake up, man.  The percentage of people who can be reached by
> arguments that aren't founded in selfishness is *tiny*.  You and I
> both happen to be among them -- but I know I'm in a minority, and you
> apparently don't.
>
> Among corporate CEOs the percentage drops further because it's their
> *job* to be selfish;  it's their *job* to maximize shareholder value
> at the expense of anything else.
>
> I never lie.  But sometimes a partial truth is more effective than the
> whole deal -- and that's exactly how it is with "free software".
> --
> <a href="http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr">Eric S. Raymond</a>
>
> No one is bound to obey an unconstitutional law and no courts are bound
> to enforce it.
> -- 16 Am. Jur. Sec. 177 late 2d, Sec 256
>




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