thssgkt@iitmax.IIT.EDU (George Thiruvathukal) (09/05/90)
In an article I posted recently to the Modula-2 newsgroup about free software I mistakenly alluded to the Fitted Software Tools Modula-2 compiler as a free software package. The Modula-2 product is shareware, which implies that it is free software for a trial period after which a decision must be made by the user of it to register it, if he or she finds it useful. As far as I am concerned, the distinction between free software and shareware is unfortunate. Shareware DENOTES shared software. If I purchase a loaf of bread and am surrounded by hungry friends, I will share the bread with them. They are under absolutely no obligation to pay me for the bread. Shareware CONNOTES shared software development costs. The notion of sharing (as most normal people understand it) is truly lost in the connotation of the word shareware. Perhaps we ought to abandon the shareware terminology completely and follow the idealogy of the GNU project run by Richard Stallman. The software is freely available and distributed (as is shareware) and contributions are optionally made by the users who find the software useful and worthwhile (as stipulated by all shareware). The only difference between the idealogy of the GNU project and shareware is terminology: GNU is free software (read the license agreement, if you doubt the credibility of the claim). Thank you for reading. Please direct FLAMES to me at one of my addresses below and DISCUSSION to me or the newsgroup. -- George K. Thiruvathukal Illinois Institute of Technology Argonne National Laboratory Chicago, IL 60616 Argonne, IL 60439 thssgkt@iitmax.iit.edu gkt@athens.ees.anl.gov thirgeo@iitvax.bitnet "The cause of all world problems: E = mc^2."
lowey@f43.n140.z1.FIDONET.ORG (Kevin Lowey) (09/06/90)
> Perhaps we ought to abandon the shareware terminology completely and > follow the idealogy of the GNU project run by Richard Stallman. The > software is freely available and distributed (as is shareware) and > contributions are optionally made by the users who find the software > useful and worthwhile (as stipulated by all shareware). The only > difference between the idealogy of the GNU project and shareware is > terminology: GNU is free software (read the license agreement, if you > doubt the credibility of the claim). One minor point. GNU is not the same as SHAREWARE. In GNU, from what you say above, the payment is optional. In shareware, the payment is manditory. In GNU, you can legally continue to use the software without paying a cent. In SHAREWARE if you don't pay, you MUST NOT use the software. This varies from one licence agreement to the next, but generally this is the case. - Kevin Lowey (LOWEY@SASK.USASK.CA LOWEY@SASK.BITNET LOWEY@HERALD.UUCP) -- Kevin Lowey - via Benden Weyr - FidoNet Node 1:140/22 use UUCP: ...!alberta!herald!lowey Internet: lowey@sask.usask.ca Standard Disclaimers Apply...