> The central thread here is collective action by principled people who will use copyleft primarily as a tool for rights of users and for the improvement of copylefted projects.
Joint stock companies are about hierarchy and control. Free software is very much not about that. Free software is a syndicalist movement by software developers. Software developers have taken control over computing infrastructure, we develop it on our own terms. We have settled on a decentralized model, which shares openly, without constraint.
People with the hierarchical mindset hate another party taking ownership because that’s something they don’t have control over. They would be happy to have you hunched over a keyboard desperately typing while they bark orders at you, regardless of whether or not that produces anything of value. Linux and GCC are both inspired products that grew in the cradle of copyleft, they are excellent because of their open development. Meanwhile, large corporations are happy silo themselves into unproductive morasses and play ritualistic political games [1].
Copyleft benefits users because it produces better software. Enforcement is the only card to play to make sure that continues. Unfortunately our reaction to licensing has been immature. When asked about licensing, we’re happy to throw up our hands and say “I don’t care about that” (see WTFPL) and carry on with development as if some helpful person from legal will do the legwork for us in exchange for our wonderful output. The fact is, legal is still in the 19th-century as far as intellectual property is concerned, and are happy to respond in a formal and threatening way to anything that challenges their hegemony. We have to work with our colleagues in the legal community, educate, and give them a place in our decentralized world. Otherwise, we’ll just be workers fighting for our slice of the pie in a rat race, commanded by people who are happy with consistent mediocrity. Users will suffer.
> The central thread here is collective action by principled people who will use copyleft primarily as a tool for rights of users and for the improvement of copylefted projects.
Joint stock companies are about hierarchy and control. Free software is very much not about that. Free software is a syndicalist movement by software developers. Software developers have taken control over computing infrastructure, we develop it on our own terms. We have settled on a decentralized model, which shares openly, without constraint.
People with the hierarchical mindset hate another party taking ownership because that’s something they don’t have control over. They would be happy to have you hunched over a keyboard desperately typing while they bark orders at you, regardless of whether or not that produces anything of value. Linux and GCC are both inspired products that grew in the cradle of copyleft, they are excellent because of their open development. Meanwhile, large corporations are happy silo themselves into unproductive morasses and play ritualistic political games [1].
Copyleft benefits users because it produces better software. Enforcement is the only card to play to make sure that continues. Unfortunately our reaction to licensing has been immature. When asked about licensing, we’re happy to throw up our hands and say “I don’t care about that” (see WTFPL) and carry on with development as if some helpful person from legal will do the legwork for us in exchange for our wonderful output. The fact is, legal is still in the 19th-century as far as intellectual property is concerned, and are happy to respond in a formal and threatening way to anything that challenges their hegemony. We have to work with our colleagues in the legal community, educate, and give them a place in our decentralized world. Otherwise, we’ll just be workers fighting for our slice of the pie in a rat race, commanded by people who are happy with consistent mediocrity. Users will suffer.
[1] http://minimsft.blogspot.com/2005/06/bob-herbold-fiefdom-syn...