[MTOS-dev] Open source plugins

[Annoying Old Guy]

At 12:41 PM 12/22/2007, Kevin Spencer wrote:
>http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?FreeAsInBeer
>http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?FreeAsInSpeech


Wow. If those are the standard explanations, no wonder free software advocates have a hard time convincing businesses to go that route. The "FreeAsInBeer" one in particular is almost entirely self-referential, using the term "FreeAsInBeer" to explain itself, each reference being a link to the very same page. The only external reference has it in just a catch phrase, with no further explanation. And if someone gives me a free beer, I can handle it off to anyone else, or pour it in two cups and give those to two different people. That is, it's freely redistributable. In contrast, FreeAsInSpeech means that I can speak freely, but others can't copy my works or do anything with them without my permission (copyright). So, FreeAsInBeer is like GPL, and FreeAsInSpeech is like Open Source? But that seems opposite of what little coherence is on those pages (e.g., FreeAsInSpeech means freely redistributable, not like actual free speech).

But I digress. The key point I got from following your links is that "freeware" has no officially agreed upon meaning, and shouldn't be used[1]. So I feel better about not understanding it properly, as there is no proper understanding. The issue relevant to this discussion is what meaning MTOS and its plugin directory ascribe to the term.

[1] http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html#Freeware