Yes, my post wasn't checked. I've corrected it. Well put - I agree completely with your summing up. Please see my corrected post. Ta -- Matt --- Tim Pizey <timp@paneris.org> wrote:

On Monday 11 February 2002 11:22, Matt Johnson wrote:

...

I totally agree that the notion of something for nothing is both wrong, and wrong (i.e. incorrect,

and

...

wrong (morally)).

I think that this is to misunderstand computing. Computing has something in common with literature and language. Sure Shakespeare was paid, or patronised, during his (or her) life, but we receive Shakespeares work as 'something for nothing' not withstanding the money we may pay a particular publisher.

So open-source software is software which hopes to become part of the corpus of computer science which will survive the original author and become part of human culture.

Can't see anything wrong or wrong here. Just the normal standing on the shoulders of giants which pervades civilisaton.

cheers timp

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