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Lessig, Stallman in New Documentary

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the but-only-if-you're-in-nyc dept.

Alternative Freedom is a documentary on intellectual property rights featuring lots of interviews with folks like Stallman and Lessig, as well as people like DJ Danger Mouse (creator of the Grey Album). They have a trailer available, but if you're in NYC the movie is now showing. If anyone manages to go, I'd love to see some real reviews of it.

1 of 110 comments (clear)

  1. RMS is just a whiny old hippy by sentientbrendan · · Score: 1, Troll

    >I am not making fun of RMS here - I greatly admire his principals
    Why?

    Seriously, he's not Ghandi. He just doesn't *pay for software* That doesn't exactly make him a saint.

    I like open source too, but these are not the grand principles he makes them out to be. It's just a way of distributing *computer software*, which isn't that important in the grand scheme of things. Computers in general are not a major source of tyranny in the world.

    I admire the EFF because they are trying to fix some broken laws. To the extent that I admire RMS, it is because he started the FSF, which has turned out some great software. To the extent that I *revile* RMS, it is because he tries to spread this nonsense that software development is a *social movement*.

    Just because a few lawyers do pro bono work some of the time, doesn't mean that all lawyers want to work for free all the time. Additionally, just because some people write software and *essentially donate it to the public* doesn't mean that they intend to, or are obligated to, always do such a thing. Open Source is *Not* *NOT *NOT* a social movement. Developers are highly skilled professionals, and they are free to use their skills to make whatever software, and distribute it by whatever means they feel will benefit them the most personally.

    RMS is the only person in open source development *that I know of* that actually thinks there's some kind of *moral obligation* to make software free. Its great to use open source software... but by refusing to use *any* software that is commercial, you aren't helping anyone. Certainly not developers.