Re:Free Software: An idea whose time has passed?
by yellowapple on Saturday March 27, 2021 @12:02AM
(#26599807)
> I honestly don't understand it
It's easier to understand (I think) in the context of EEE and FUD. There's a reason why the big corporate players in the FOSS space - the FAANGs and Microsofts and the rest - prefer "open source" over "free software": they seek to control the movement, and want to leash it. The idea of users truly owning the software they use is antithetical to traditional corporate software development. Software freedom, in short, hurts their bottom line.
The smear campaigns against RMS and other free software advocates, the promotion of kafkaesque CoCs, the trend of ditching actual FOSS licenses for "almost" FOSS licenses, the constant push toward locked down hardware and opaque remotely-hosted software... these things are always wrapped up in what look like the best of intentions, but it's no coincidence that they consistently have corporate "allies" and consistently target anticorporate elements.
It's easier to understand (I think) in the context of EEE and FUD. There's a reason why the big corporate players in the FOSS space - the FAANGs and Microsofts and the rest - prefer "open source" over "free software": they seek to control the movement, and want to leash it. The idea of users truly owning the software they use is antithetical to traditional corporate software development. Software freedom, in short, hurts their bottom line.
The smear campaigns against RMS and other free software advocates, the promotion of kafkaesque CoCs, the trend of ditching actual FOSS licenses for "almost" FOSS licenses, the constant push toward locked down hardware and opaque remotely-hosted software... these things are always wrapped up in what look like the best of intentions, but it's no coincidence that they consistently have corporate "allies" and consistently target anticorporate elements.