[TriLUG] Generational differences in Free/Open Source Software

[Andrew C. Oliver]

As a supposed Xer, how do you explain that I started out rather strongly 
in the supposed "pragmatist" camp and as I get older I fall farther and 
farther in the supposedly idealist camp..  In some ways I'm in a more 
idealistic camp than Stallman as I believe open source/free software 
should be designed/developed openly and not just licensed openly.  We 
can come up with some paradigm to fit around this or we can just say 
that I wanted software that was easy to use w/o controversy in my day 
job and then as I gained more experience I realized that some people 
(especially VC backed companies) are playing games with "Free" and 
"Open" to mean something very different.  In the short term I wanted 
software that I could use and potentially contribute to without 
controversy from my employer, and figured everyone else would do the 
same and play nice.  Now I think having some level of structure to where 
everyone pursues their economic interests and they don't interfere with 
maintaining the freedom and openess of the source.  One way to 
contribute to that aim is by licensing off their opportunities to do 
that and using trademarks and the legal system to ensure they can't play 
with verbiages.  I may not have "approached" it from this "third way"ist 
communitarian thought system, but am arriving there day by day.

I still have no desire to sit in a circle and sing the free software 
song...I don't see that changing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sJUDx7iEJw

-Andy

PS anyone else think that YouTube is an ironic place for that?


> 
> Andy,
> 
> I agree that the world isn't nearly that flat.  However, I do believe
> there is a good basis for what they claim.  Growing up around
> the same time as other people can definitely affect how someone
> views the world.  Take, for instance, those "child of the 80s" things
> that went around a few years ago:
> 
> i.e. http://www.80smusiclyrics.com/humor.shtml
> 
> I'm not talking about political ideology or whether you're a realist or
> optimist personally, but rather how someone's world view was shaped
> and how that affects how they approach FOSS.
> 
> Cheers,
> Tanner
> 
> 


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