Re: Profiteering at FSF (was: First GNU CD-ROM)

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Article #1318

#1318

From: Fergus James HENDERSON
Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1992 20:26

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lenoil@catalogic.com (Robert Lenoil) writes:

>>The CD costs $100 if you are an individual, $400 if you are a
>>business.  This is a distribution fee.  The software is `copylefted',
>>which means you have the the right to copy, change, and redistribute it.
>
>It seems to me that a "distribution fee" would be to recover the costs of
>distribution, which shouldn't differ for individuals vs. businesses. You're
>really stretching the "Free" in "Free Software Foundation" by marking up the
>CD-ROM cost 400% for businesses. I never would have expected such behavior
>from FSF, and am quite disappointed.

To be pedantic, it's only a 300% mark-up.

Oh, and by the way, the "Free" in "Free Software Foundation" refers to
freedom, not price. So long you distribute the source code, you can
charge what you like.

-- 
Fergus Henderson             fjh@munta.cs.mu.OZ.AU      
This .signature virus is a self-referential statement that is true - but 
you will only be able to consistently believe it if you copy it to your own
.signature file!

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From: fjh@munta.cs.mu.OZ.AU (Fergus James HENDERSON)
Newsgroups: gnu.misc.discuss
Subject: Re: Profiteering at FSF (was: First GNU CD-ROM)
Message-ID: <9236507.10705@mulga.cs.mu.OZ.AU>
Date: 29 Dec 92 20:26:06 GMT
References: <9212091353.AA01413@grackle.stockbridge.ma.us> <75986@apple.apple.COM>
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Organization: Computer Science, University of Melbourne, Australia
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