Sachin G Nambiar wrote:
Sachin wants to modify a FOSS license to suit his thinking. He will have to choose a non-FOSS license that suits him. Its like a club. You like it, you join it. If you like another club, join that club. You cannot take the rules of one club and impose them on another.
true Rony except i consider myself part of this club. I have no intention to modify any license whatsoever. I had a basic disagreement regarding distribution of free software which i voiced in this forum where else would i go to? That is all there is to it. nothing more.. i wont stop using free software or advocating it neverthless.
Your basic worry is that if you allow anyone to modify and redristibute your software, then you will loose out on the money _that_ person makes on playing with your software. While your worry is justified and I have been through this thought process, the FOSS ideology does not look at it as a loss but as an _investment_ for much higher gains in the future. Here lies the basic difference between closed ideologies and free ( libre ) ones. Closed ideologies are for making quick but limited bucks. Open ideologies are for big businesses, huge returns in the long run. What would you like? ;)
There is an example to illustrate this point. In an interview, veteran Bollywood actor Rajendra Kumar was once asked why he had done a film for a director at a much lower price than was the norm. He replied that the director was a hit director who would give him the break that he wanted and expose his talent to the world. Therefore the lower price was actually his _investment_ in further advancing his career and thats what exactly happened. He became a hit actor after that film.
Just as a company spends millions on advertising its products, even distributing its samples free. In the same way, free distribution and modification of your software acts as your publicity and advertisement. Libre means you cannot hoodwink anyone and make any code thats hidden from others. Its transparent, so if your are good, you get recognition and that is the beginning of your career graph moving upwards. Software thats released under FOSS licenses always recognizes its writer _even_ when it is used by others for further modification or distribution. When you work for a closed software company, your name will never appear on the software. It is only the company brand that appears on it. However in libre software, you keep your title and the license ensures that others respect it. Libre software also gives you the freedom to take up new projects and pursue new ideas, as your existing work can be looked after and contributed by others too after some time. It does not tie you down to protecting any secret formulas all your life. You have total freedom from piracy as your work is anyway available to everyone for free downloads. There is no money to make by copying your software. You make big bucks by providing support and customization for your software to corporate clients and the small and individual users get to use it free. So it benefits you as well as empowers the people with software thats affordable and customizable and expandable.
Regards,
Rony.
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