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Submitted via IRC for TheMightyBuzzard
In our increasingly politicized world, it has become popular to chant "all software is political." Software builds the systems that free or constrain us, the thinking goes, and so we should withhold it from bad people. This is the thinking that has led Microsoft employees and others to decry contracts tech companies have with ICE (US Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement), insisting that their software only be sold to people they like.
[...] Over the years we as an open source community have experimented with all sorts of stupid ideas, like efforts to block anyone from using code for commercial purposes unless they pay. Each time, we've realized that as good a goal as it is for developers to get paid, for example, the destruction caused by closing off the code to uses we don't like ends up ruining the foundations upon which open source rests.
This is dramatically more important, however, when it comes to attempts to politicize open source software.
As developer Chris Cordle stated, "Nobody wins" and the "whole idea [undergirding open source] dies" ... "if an author arbitrarily picks and chooses who can and can't use it based on whoever Twittersphere is mad at this week." It doesn't matter if there is tremendous cause for that anger. Open source dies when it becomes politicized.
Source: https://www.techrepublic.com/article/why-politicizing-open-source-is-a-terrible-idea/
(Score: 0, Offtopic) by Captival on Thursday September 13 2018, @04:13AM (1 child)
jmorris actually believes that politicization of software by rabid Liberal ideologues is a bad thing? He must be destroyed for his own good. Let's call him a Nazi a lot to show him how superior are, then some congratulatory back patting for ourselves because we're so righteous. Meanwhile, we'll send some Antifa goons over to destroy his property and send him a few death threats. That'll teach him for being politically neutral.
(Score: 2, Funny) by aristarchus on Thursday September 13 2018, @04:23AM
Now, now, Captival, UID 6(8)66, if that is your real name, no one is suggesting violence toward our fellow Soylentil, jmorris. We love him, so much, indeed, that we are willing to do an intervention in situations like this, where his demons get the better of him. But you, UID 6(8)66, you are not fooling anyone! Number of the Beast? Mephistopheles? Is that you, oh dark one that hides in the cover of libertarian conservatism? Let our Soylentil go! Release your hold on jmorris! Or we will put in a rider on all our software that prohibits its use by any denizen of Hades. Now back were you came from, hellish troll and very bad one at that.