As some here did point out free software as Richard Stallman and GNU foundation use the term is a specific set of freedoms and limitations.
These freedoms and limitations are arguable depending on many factors and they are not what everybody considers free software.
While I can understand the need for those limitations in order to promote some ideas and practices, I am not happy that they stand for free software as an absolute and at the same time the GPL license limits freedom in two aspects:
- You cannot distribute copies (modified or not) without attributing the work to the original author
- You cannot distribute copies (modified or not) with less permissions than the original license
Some people can argue that the GPL license actually limits your freedom while the UNLICENSE license gives you more freedom.
And here is my question: If I work on a patch or feature and I put my time and effort into it, is it ethical to get rewarded for my effort? How can I sell the modified version without closing the source or changing the license? That at least until I get the money back for my invested time.
And this point for me is where non free software will get ahead, simply because they are able to get paid for the the developers time and will always have more resources than free software projects.
These freedoms and limitations are arguable depending on many factors and they are not what everybody considers free software.
While I can understand the need for those limitations in order to promote some ideas and practices, I am not happy that they stand for free software as an absolute and at the same time the GPL license limits freedom in two aspects: - You cannot distribute copies (modified or not) without attributing the work to the original author - You cannot distribute copies (modified or not) with less permissions than the original license
Some people can argue that the GPL license actually limits your freedom while the UNLICENSE license gives you more freedom.
And here is my question: If I work on a patch or feature and I put my time and effort into it, is it ethical to get rewarded for my effort? How can I sell the modified version without closing the source or changing the license? That at least until I get the money back for my invested time.
And this point for me is where non free software will get ahead, simply because they are able to get paid for the the developers time and will always have more resources than free software projects.