Free Software Evangelism, revisited

[Ricardo Andere de Mello]

you missed the point... profit is not a crime, neither money.
what Im asking you is:

what is your main reason to do/teach/talk free software? (you should 
know by now)

I know people whose primarily reasons are social, ethical, 
philosophical, but I know some that are in this just because they see 
this as a businness.

Actually I think this is directly connected to that thin line that 
separates free software from open-source. If you dont know the 
difference about them, I doubt you can understand the difference about 
doing for fun and for money. (please, when I say *you*, I say in a 
generalized way, not specifically you).

Can you say you are a hero if you did something to save a person, 
without really knowing, just because you were at the right place and 
time? suppose you were at the street, and someone falls in front of you 
and you grab him, so this person dont crash his head at the street. You 
did this because of two reasons: first because it came into your 
direction, and second because humans have the reflex to grab falling 
things, like a simple ball. You actually dont *thought* about what you 
were doing.  So, can you still be a hero?

[]s, gandhi

Jeroen Dekkers wrote:

>At Wed, 24 May 2006 16:14:01 -0300,
>Ricardo Andere de Mello wrote:
>  
>
>>I'll answer this with another question:
>>
>>Are you selling the idea because its contents, or because it will help 
>>you to profit in a near future?
>>
>>You are doing evangelism when you *believe* in what you are talking. 
>>Otherwise, you are just *selling* something, just like any other businness.
>>
>>for free software people, profit is just a collateral effect of 
>>evangelism... would you stop doing it if you dont have any profit?
>>    
>>
>
>I don't agree with this. Profit is important and not some collateral
>effect. Everybody needs money to buy food, clothes, a place to live,
>etc. So you're obviously selling the idea to help make a profit.
>
>There is nothing wrong with making money, especially not if you use
>Free Software to make money.
>
>Jeroen Dekkers
>  
>


-- 
Ricardo Andere de Mello
Presidente do Quilombo Digital
55 (11) 3271-7928 / 55 (11) 9917-7722