Eric S. Raymond on GPL and BSD licenses. & Microsoft coming to Linux

[Alix Pexton]

Mike Parker wrote:
> Alix Pexton wrote:
>> Walter Bright wrote:
>>> Nick Sabalausky wrote:
>>>> "Walter Bright" <newshound1 at digitalmars.com> wrote in message 
>>>> news:gqj7kh$ll$1 at digitalmars.com...
>>>>> Nick Sabalausky wrote:
>>>>>> (The whole idea of "free as in freedom software" not also implying 
>>>>>> "free as in beer" (Side note: since when is beer free?) is 
>>>>>> complete bullocks.) (And yes, I just used the word "bullocks". I'm 
>>>>>> in a weird mood...)
>>>>> I always thought the "free as in beer" came from this: 
>>>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Froggy_Evening
>>>>
>>>> *shrug* For all I know it could have come from that. But one thing I 
>>>> do know: Chuck Jones is an animation god :)
>>>
>>> I attended a lecture by him once. He's also engaging and a very nice 
>>> man. The crowd loved him, and he deserved it.
>>
>> My interpretation of the phrase "Free, as in beer" is that the beer is 
>> free, whenever it is not your round. When it is your turn to go to the 
>> bar, it's everyone but you that gets free beer. In this context, "Free 
>> Software" is that which is produced by a community where each member 
>> makes a contribution in turn, either trough creating or testing, and 
>> as a result everyone shares the benefit.
>>
>> A...
> 
> I think everyone is reading too much into it. The point is simply to 
> distinguish between gratis and libre. There's no suitable adjective to 
> distinguish them in English (other than the two words themselves, which 
> aren't widely used), as "free" is used to mean both. Beer is a product 
> that is often given /gratis/, and the phrase "free beer" is used often 
> enough ("Sure I'll come to your 
> party/dinner/barbecue/your-favorite-social-event. I'm not one to turn 
> down free beer!") that it gets the message across quite effectively. You 
> could substitute any product for beer to the same end, but the meaning 
> wouldn't be as immediately obvious methinks.
> 
> At least, that's always been my understanding. Of course, you'd have to 
> ask Richard Stallman since, IIRC, it was he who first started using the 
> idea of free speech vs. free beer to promote Free Software.

Who pays for the beer when it is you who hosts the party?

A...