Open Source Code And War

"Should Open Source developers help the U.S. prepare for war with Iraq?" Roblimo has a piece on NewsForge which addresses that question by showing a specific way that the U.S. military is using Free and Open Source software (in simulator-based training for Blackhawk helicopters), and letting one of the developers involved speak for himself. If software is Free, doesn't that already answer the question of who can use it?

Comments

Because if the US military...

[Anonymous Coward]

...is willing to break international law to wage a unilateral war, they sure are going to obey some stupid provision in a modified GPL. Yeah.

Re:Humane Considerations

[lfourrier]

The outcome of this war is certain.
More poor countries despising the USofA.

Re:On Socially Responsible Programming

[n3k5]

Quote from the page referenced above:

And my first words are these: when I hear someone speak of `social responsibility', that's when I reach for my revolver. // In point of fact, I don't actually own a revolver ...

That's right. He owns a pistol and gave another one to his wife. Those are not revolvers. As much as I admire works like the cathedral and bazar essay, since I've seen stuff like "Sex, software, politics, and firearms. Life's simple pleasures..." and Eric's Gun Nut Page, this guy is among the last people on earth I'd ask to talk about social responsibility in anything.