🚀 go-pugleaf

drw@pascal.mit.edu (Dale R. Worley) writes:
< Having talked to RMS about this, I assure you that he believes that
< all embodiments of "intellectual property" are fundamentally immoral.
< Thus, the concepts of the GPL should be extended to absolutely all
< works now copyrighted.

< He believes that property rights in physical objects are a necessary
< but not particularly good solution to the problem that only one person
< can use an object at a time.

< (I don't agree, but that's another matter...)

I find RMS's (apparent) attitude on this MOST discouraging.  The
entire essance of scholarly publication is an attempt to distribute
information that can be used freely.  The fact that the physical
manifestation (book, journal, etc.) may not be free is easily solved
by going to a library.  The physical AWK book isn't free, but then
neither is the screen that you are reading my words off of, nor the
paper you put into your printer.  Neither, for that matter, is a GNU
source tape (yes, you can FTP GNU stuff for free, but your network
connection isn't free either).

On the other hand, if information in a work was used in another piece
of work (including the implimentation of a program), the author has an
obligation to cite all sources used.  To do otherwise is somewhere
between sloppy and plagurism.

Besides, the choice of what refrences to look at and what not to look
at should be left to the reader.

		-- Paul Placeway <pplaceway@bbn.com>