Sharing free code in 2015 (and 2016, 2017, ...)

[Paul Boddie]

On Monday 24. August 2015 16.25.40 Andrés Muñiz Piniella wrote:
> >I am not sure whether the same principles should be applied to
> >services. When I download (free software) files from the internet, I
> >don't have the requirement for all the components involved in the
> >process (routers, screens, ...) to consist only of free software. I
> >don't see why free software hosting should be different.
> 
> I don't have the requirement either but it would be nice if I did. Why
> support by using downloadable local free software and not service free
> software? I could eventually use it locally.

That's one good reason. Another one, which you see with GitHub, is the 
cultivation of the idea that you have to use some proprietary service because 
it is the only thing providing the nice features.

While that may not be true, if people are persuaded that it is not worth their 
time or effort bothering to write Free Software to address the same needs, 
soon enough the proprietary service really will be the only thing providing 
those nice features.

> Just as it would be nice to stop using windows after all the software used
> on top of it is free software and found in gnu/Linux distros.
> 
> Aiming high and stop where you can.

Quite. If people readily concede things that actually could be done using Free 
Software, the scope of application of Free Software is reduced, whereas we 
should be trying to expand it.

Paul