Another post filtered for “profanity” – I defy you to find profanity in this!

This article points at concepts I feel very strongly about. “Is there an unsolvable difference in ideology between those who consume and those who develop open-source and free software?”
Indeed there is! The mindset of the average consumer towards free software is identical to how they feel about proprietary software. They have expectations and behave like the developer owes them something if expectations weren’t met. It’s a consumer mindset: what is with consumers, anyway? Just read all the angst and aggression surrounding the development of the most recent sortie of GIMP to get an idea.

No one gets “free as in freedom” and to be honest, no one gives a flip. And so the disconnect is very, very real. I completely agree with the author that Richard Stallman’s discussions on the ethics behind the FSF movement needs to be required exposure (so one at least *has* a clue) prior to using *any* software that isn’t proprietary, free (libre) or open-source, doesn’t matter.

I’ve been a nurse for over 30 years. I’ve spent my free time learning to write code in FoxPro, Visual Basic (for Applications), Python, php and javascript. I’ve collaborated with a *now* MS MVP on a FoxPro product (vertical market software that, although the target company chose solutions that made our product irrelevant, still has tenacious users who won’t give it up because it did things *their* way!!) and have since created Excel solutions for rostering and asset management using Excel VBA. The latter (Excel stuff) is all open-source and free – never got paid for my time for the rostering tool and now refuse to consider the asset management VBA app as anything but “Free Software”… I’m spending my non-work hours to develop it not just for Excel but there is a Android component under development as well. I’m saying all this to illustrate that I’m not approaching no-cost/free(libre)/Open-Source from a greedy: “hey, look what I can do and this isn’t costing me a dime” standpoint… I know software development costs money, my money. MSOffice cost me money, Windows cost me money, my broadband connection, Basic4Android, FoxPro, etc. all cost me money. So, why am I doing it? why do I refuse to charge for this? Because, philosophically, I *do* align myself with Richard Stallman’s view on Community… and this is my contribution.

Oh, and I do contribute (donations) to Linux Mint development, Blender3D development and a number of other no-cost software development groups to further their cause.

This is the movement that I believe in and want to promote. Not to undermine the proprietary software developer’s offerings, but to offer a choice for those who feel the same way I do about Community (vs Big Business). It is the core of this movement that Ballmer was referring to as a cancer, and whilst the analogy has negative connotations (disease) the effect is indeed aptly described.

But consumers will never get that. So, those of us who do have that Community Spirit Richard was promoting need to develop thick skins towards those inappropriate consumer attitudes. That disconnect won’t ever change: it’s not human nature. As Ubuntu developers were fond of saying (paraphrasing): “Hey, it’s no-cost. If you break it, you get to keep both pieces…” or “What do you want? your money back?” 😉