Re: [seul-edu] SEUL Licensing (was: Our presence at trade shows)

[Hilaire Fernandes <hilaire@ofset.org>]

Ray Olszewski writes:
 > I too am confused by this discussion, because it seems to me that our goals
 > reflect two incompatible objectives:
 > 
 >         1. To have all software used by schools be free (in a financial 
 >                 sense).
 > 
 >         2. To encourage commercial producers of educational software
 >                 to port their products to Linux.
 > 
 > It is hard to imagine a way to accomplish #2 while holding to the standard
 > of #1. Of course, it is easy to talk about such goals when writing
 > manifestos ... but I've alrwady made my view of the value of manifestos
 > sufficiently clear, I think.
 > 
 > One legitimate answer to this is that "free" is not meant in a financial
 > sense, but in the "free speech" sense that FSF uses it to mean. In that
 > case, the problem of how to compensate developers for their time remains
 > unsolved. (If you think it has been solved, please name a solution that has
 > been shown to work, not one that people allege will work. And I'd like to
 > send you the prospectus on a fine bridge I have for sale as well.) 
 > 
 > The large number of orphaned ecucational software packages out there, and
 > the ones that proceed very slowly because they are developed in someone's
 > "spare" time, highlight the limitations of "free". Until someone solves the
 > problem of getting rewards directed to developers sufficient to attract
 > large numbers of them to developing Linux-based educational apps as their
 > work (not on the side), we will not see the large number of good apps that
 > we want to see available.

Totally right. I will largely prefer to see Seul thinking about way to
do that. Actually this exactly what wants to do OFSET.

Hilaire