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Re: Documentation Standards was Re: [ox-en] UserLinux



"Niall" == Niall Douglas <s_fsfeurope2 nedprod.com> writes:

    Niall> [snip]

    Niall> However, I do not think information wants to be free. Nor
    Niall> do I think it /should/ be free because those who put in
    Niall> effort to create it must be rewarded. To create outstanding
    Niall> information at the fastest pace requires reward - thus to
    Niall> achieve a better society quicker, we must reward the
    Niall> creator.

Sure.

And the rewards need not be money, they can include any or all of:

- Personal satisfaction
- Peer recognition
- Enhanced market value for the author
- Paying off a perceived debt
- Cult figure status
- Gateway to commercial services
- Enhanced market for hardware
- Probably a dozen others I can't think of at 09:15 on a Sunday

    Niall> Otherwise, we can consign ourselves to inevitable collapse
    Niall> of our society, economy and ultimately, civilisation as
    Niall> what we're doing right now is not sustainable.

Tangible goods will always trade for money (unless the socialists
actually manage to ``take over the world'').  Services will probably
always trade for money.  All we're talking about is making information
(software, documentation, music, fiction) free.  I see no reason why
that should lead to the collapse of any society, economy or
civilisation.

I'd personally believe that the reverse would be true: the collapse is
nearer if we don't share information.  Imagine what would have
happened if Caveman Foo had told Caveman Bar, ``I know this great
method to evade  sabre-toothed tigers, but you must pay me half a
mastodon rear leg before I reveal it to you.''

Or taking the argument against freedom of information to its logically
ridiculous extremes:

- Pay $10 to read the constitution.

- Want to quote a passage by Luke in the Bible?  Please contact the
Vatican for extremely cheap rates.  ONLY TODAY: Select one Luke
passage, get one Mark passage FREE!!!

- Humming Greensleeves in public punishable by fines or, in case of
repeated offences, a jail term not to exceed 3 years.

- BeeGees sued for umpteen billions for ripping off Beethoven in
_Saturday Night Fever_.

    Niall> Cheers, Niall

Regards,

-- Raju
--
Raj Mathur                raju kandalaya.org      http://kandalaya.org/
       GPG: 78D4 FC67 367F 40E2 0DD5  0FEF C968 D0EF CC68 D17F
                      It is the mind that moves

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