[Bug 269656] Re: AN IRRELEVANT LICENSE IS PRESENTED TO YOU FREE-OF-CHARGE ON STARTUP

[Remco]

It is certainly possible to have a free service. Look at the Affero
General Public License. That deals with services. You could say that
those are free services.

The problem is that "free service" is not very much defined. What makes
something a free service? Apparently, the AGPL does. But is that the
only free "web services license"? Are Terms of Service allowed in a free
service?

Also, do we really want to have access only to free web services? If we
define a free service as a service running on free software that is
publicly available (basically what the AGPL does), then Google Search is
definitely not free, since all information regarding their search
algorithm is secret.

But does a free search engine exist? (seriously, I'd like to know) In
the absence of free things, we use non-free things. Look at device
drivers. Look at professional CAD software. Look at the ATM machine
around the corner. Look at the security system of an airport. Even
Richard Stallman uses these last two services, albeit grudgingly.

Until everything is free, you'll have to live with non-free stuff.
That's how GNU was created by the way: slowly replacing everything in
UNIX with a free replacement.

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AN IRRELEVANT LICENSE IS PRESENTED TO YOU FREE-OF-CHARGE ON STARTUP
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/269656
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