Fwd: [Foundation-l] File format policy

[MJ Ray]

Alex Hudson <home at alexhudson.com> wrote:
> On Sun, 2008-01-20 at 21:54 +1100, Ben Finney wrote:
> > It's a fact that bit-collections can be simultaneously "program", 
> > "documentation", "art", and "documentation". Therefore it's a fallacy 
> > to name those categories and expect that bit-collections will fall 
> > into exactly one of them.
>
> I didn't say it would fall into exactly one of them; I disagree with the
> notion that they can't be separated. 

If there is something that won't fall into exactly one of them, then
they can't be separated completely.  However, we can distinguish them
as concepts because there is something which will fall into exactly
one of them, so it's also a fallacy to say those categories are
indistinguishable.

[...]
> The law talks in terms of function, not form, and thus the freeness is
> based on function, not form.

It talks in terms of both, doesn't it?  That's part of the reason why
the law on this is a bit of a dog's breakfast and why freedom debates
about it are messy.

Rgeards,
-- 
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