Open Source Values

[Dave Hull]

Quoting Jim Herrmann <kclug at itdepends.com>:

> I agree with the statement below, and is why I have a hard time
> understanding the appeal to the conservative person, which typically
> believes in hierarchy and authority.  I really want to hear from Hal and
> Bill on what about OSS that appeals to their values.  I'm listening.
> Trying to understand.  Help me out here guys.

Going OT here, sorry. Conservative pundits in politics and media seem to talk
out of both sides of their mouths. From one side of their mouths they say they
are against big government, that government should stay out of people's lives,
etc. While out of the other side of their mouths they are attempting to pass
legislation that will outlaw abortions, gay marraige or even domestic
partnerships. They support the drug war, putting hundreds of thousands of
peaceable citizens behind bars for committing crimes that affect only
themselves.

If they are really for smaller government and really want to stay out of
people's lives, then why do they continuously foster such a privacy violating
agenda?

As for your original question, I love using Free software because having the
source code available makes using and supporting systems easier. In the last
decade that I've been using GNU/Linux, I've had several instances where I have
been able to tweak a line of code to fix a bug or find an undocumented argument
that would solve a problem with quirky hardware, etc.

Due to my upbringing (most likely) and my life experiences, I also believe
strongly in helping other people out. The Open Source community seems to hold
this as a core value. I have turned to this group and others like it for help
more times than I care to remember and most times I have actually come away
with a solution.

The hacker spirit that came out of MIT and the early days of computing where
ideas were openly shared among peers led to the rise of the internet as we know
it. Imagine where we'd be if those early pioneers had clung tightly to their
ideas and weren't working cooperatively for the common good?

We'd all be using CompuServe or AOHell.

--
Dave Hull
http://insipid.com