Hemingways_Shotgun

“Free as in Freedom” doesn’t mean “Free as in Beer”.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with a paid service using FOSS software if that’s the route they want to take. Using FOSS doesn’t mean you have to rely on donations only and aren’t allowed to charge. It only means you have to keep the source code freely available.

There’s a pervasive, damaging, and limiting misunderstanding about the word “Free” that has always been a problem in the Open Source world. This notion that things that are Open Source should be “No Cost” just because the source code is readily available and anyone could technically spin their own fork of it if they had the ability to do so.

But NO WHERE does it actually say that FREE means “Free as in Beer”.

If you don’t like it and don’t want to sign up, more power to you. That’s your freedom of choice. And to be honest, an instance asking for a fee probably wouldn’t be very successful.

But pretending that there is something either shady or legally or morally wrong with asking for a fee for using FOSS software is harmful to the very notion of FOSS and the upvote ratio you’re getting is a shameful example of how pervasive the whole “But GIMP/INKSCAPE/BLENDER is supposed to be free!” whining has become from users who have no clue what the “FREE” in “Free and Open Source” actually means.

I can’t be the only one who immediately thought “e pluribus anus” can I?

No I really wouldn’t be. But it’s still disheartening.

If you’re last name is “Rodriguez” and you are still working for Border Patrol, you’re a traitor.

I guarantee you this man turns out to be a pedo.