[carlosjobim]

Logic of people in the FOSS swamp:

1. I'm going to give away all my work for free to the whole world.

2. HELP! HELP! POLICE! People are stealing my work!

Start charging a fair price for your work, or just give away the binaries and not the source if you want to do it for free.

Step out of the FOSS swamp, step in to human dignity.

[elric]

What a load of crock.

FOSS licenses were obviously written in the spirit of sharing with humans. Some later licenses made the license less amenable for sharing with corporations because some authors didn't feel like they were being treated fairly. Some authors today have similar feelings about their code being used by Gen AI. It is perfectly fine for authors to want to place restrictions on how they want others to use their work.

> Step out of the FOSS swamp, step in to human dignity.

What is that even supposed to mean?

[skeledrew]

"Spirit" means nothing when it comes to legal - or even community - compliance. Either something is allowed, or it isn't, and if a license doesn't do everything that a user of said license desires then they should change that license. Just as licenses were made that explicitly made sharing with corporations less amenable, so should licenses re Gen AI usage. Only then is it worth making a case.

[brookst]

I’m old and I don’t recall FOSS being about truly free, truly open, just not for some categories of use.

In fact I seem to recall FOSS advocates denouncing licenses that put limits on who could use the software or for what purpose. This “it was always only for humans” take is new to me.

[JackFr]

> FOSS licenses were obviously written in the spirit of sharing with humans.

That may be true, but I don't think it's obvious. What don't I know about the history of OSS?

[MPSimmons]

>written in the spirit of sharing with humans.

Not humans who are using AI tools?

[carlosjobim]

Human dignity when it comes to work and contribution is very simple:

Software developers should charge a fair price for their products from their users. That's dignified and beneficial for everybody involved. And it doesn't invite "code stealers" or anybody who wants to reap what they didn't sow.

Just like any type of work. Fair compensation is the key. Not working for free for people who don't care about you and then complain that they didn't give you anything.

[jazz9k]

Developers gave their code out for free, but want to discriminate against people they don't like from using it in ways they dislike.

The 'spirit of free software' is bullshit. It's software authoritarianism disguised as a noble cause.

[ludamad]

Even so, what's wrong with this? They told you up front that they're going to discriminate. Students can use the code freely, businesses may struggle. People don't need to be fair.

[xbar]

Don't use it.

[unsungNovelty]

Yo! Open Source Software works within copyright law. Your software should comply with the OSS licence you are forking/redistributing from. If you don't comply, OSS freedoms are void and it defaults back to being copyrighted material for you. Comply with licences. And enjoy the freedoms. Otherwise, you are copying from a copyrighted material. Which is illegal. Comply or write it from scratch.

Or... Be nice and ask. People tell u what to do. Don't be rude here.

I remember this Video editor software which didn't comply properly with OSS licence of FFMPEG(?). And people told author what to do. It's always cheap to be kind. Or win dumb prizes.

[josephg]

FOSS doesn't mean you give up all rights to your work. In this case, the software is AGPL licensed, which imposes huge list of requirements on copies - including attribution and sharing back changes.

FOSS != public domain.

[tvbusy]

This person is so dangerous that if I offer them to stay in my shaded yard in the middle of the excruciating sun, they will demand that I let them take my house as well.

[carlosjobim]

FOSS swamp logic:

1. I want to help people in need, so I'm just going to leave my house open, put stickers all over town with the adress and a note that the house is open to anybody and help yourself (only if you really need), and go on vacation.

2. HELP! HELP! POLICE! They robbed everything from my house!

Because "legally", you didn't allow anybody to rob your house while leaving it untended and with invites all over town. Just as I "legally" don't allow anybody to steal my wallet if I throw it into the middle of a busy train terminal.

But it's time to stop playing these games, step out of the swamp and into human dignity: which is to not willfully make yourself a victim and then complain, when you have all the control already of what code you contribute where.