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A comment on Babel is used by millions, so why are we running out of money?. Parent comment

Re:Babel is used by millions, so why are we running out of m... by mids_hn on Tuesday May 11, 2021 @05:25AM (#27115974)
Under the OSIs definition of open-source, and under the definition of free software, anyone can buy your software and redistribute it to others for free. This effectively limits you to earning money only off the labor of your work, not the work itself, and makes your business model effectively useless. This is such a huge difference yet the FSF, as always, confuse people (maybe even intentionally) by saying that free software can be commercial. No, it cannot. The services you provide can be, the labor you provide can be, but the software - no.

You can remove that freedom to the user. After all, the source is available, it can still be tested for malware, but your work won't be open-source.

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Re:Babel is used by millions, so why are we running out of m... by greggman3 on Tuesday May 11, 2021 @06:30AM (#27116352)
How does open source get money? According to the original GNU Manifesto from the 1980s

> All sorts of development can be funded with a Software Tax:

The GNU Manifesto arguably concedes OSS won't make money

> In the long run, making programs free is a step toward the postscarcity world, where nobody will have to work very hard just to make a living. People will be free to devote themselves to activities that are fun, such as programming, after spending the necessary ten hours a week on required tasks such as legislation, family counseling, robot repair and asteroid prospecting. There will be no need to be able to make a living from programming.

https://www.gnu.org/gnu/manifesto.en.html

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