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Musings on an article posted by r0ml:
https://r0ml.medium.com/free-software-an-idea-whose-time-has-passed-6570c1d8218a
I guess I just might not be smart enough, but I seem to often get the feeling that I'm missing something with r0ml's talks and articles. But not something I can easily articulate. I'm not sure that I agree with his stance that free software's time has come, but I can't fault his reasoning or the path that he leads us on towards his conclusion.
I suppose I might be part of the absolute tiny minority that wants to use computation as a general purpose tool, a use to which computation is eminently good for. I tend to write software specifically for a problem I need to solve, as a bonus, I can sometimes get that generalised enough to be released on my gitea instance or github account, but not always. I put that stuff out in the world on the basis that it worked for me, and solved a problem, maybe it'll help you solve the same problem, but it ain't my fault if it doesn't, and I give no guarantees it solves my original problem in an optimal or even sufficient manner.
I hold an assumption that someone using my software will posess enough competence to judge its suitability for their problem, and see how to adjust it if required.
My problems almost certainly will never potentially involve harmful ionising radiation, so should I be held to the same standard as someone who's problems do?
Should I have to pass a practical test in order to prove that I can competently write software in order to write programs to solve my problems? A license to own and operate a compiler? What about python or bash scripts, which I write sometimes as throwaway one use things?
I think the general scope of r0ml's argument is that the 'sharing code for the greater good' side of software should be something that's a government service, his comparisons to the way copyright is supposed to work push me in that direction.
That's as far as my impetus got me this time round, I may in future add more here, but I still struggle with articulating this problem. Maybe I should stop worrying and just adopt r0ml's Liberal Software term for what I want to do...