Pluralistic: “If buying isn’t owning, piracy isn’t stealing” (08 Dec 2023) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow
pluralistic.net

The ability to change features, prices, and availability of things you’ve already paid for is a powerful temptation to corporations.

  • ParsnipWitch@feddit.deEnglish
    123·
    11 months ago

    And you all just were happy and bro fisted people who ignored the licensing terms?

    • grue@lemmy.worldEnglish
      171·
      11 months ago

      Yes.

      Well, not literally, both because I’m more inclined to “high five” and you can’t do either gesture over the Internet. But figuratively, yes.

      • ParsnipWitch@feddit.deEnglish
        114·
        11 months ago

        Why don’t you just gift away your software than? That’s an honest question. You obviously aren’t expecting to be paid for it, do you think in general developers shouldn’t earn money with software or is it just you?

        • grue@lemmy.worldEnglish
          181·
          11 months ago

          Why don’t you just gift away your software than?

          Because I don’t make those decisions; my employer does. They ought to give it away, but they don’t.

          (The software I’ve worked on has tended to be either (a) tools for internal company use or (b) stuff used by the government/large companies where the revenue would definitely have come from a support contract even if the code itself were free.)

            • grue@lemmy.worldEnglish
              2·
              11 months ago

              That question is a red herring. My employer isn’t paying me to write software; they’re paying me to write the software they want instead of the software I want to make.

        • psud@aussie.zoneEnglish
          61·
          11 months ago

          The writer whose article is the subject of this post releases his books without DRM. He ends his podcast with a quote encouraging piracy. I found him because of an earlier book he released under a share alike licence

          He has found that piracy increases the reach of his message, and increases his sales

            • CmdrShepard@lemmy.oneEnglish
              3·
              11 months ago

              Your question is irrelevant as claiming “you either support 100% paid or you support 100% free distribution” is a false dichotomy.

        • db0@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
          11·
          11 months ago

          Software developer who gives away my software for free as Free and Open Source Software. I agree with the grand-grand-parent comment.