[Ilugc] difference between free and opensource software

[Akilan R]

On Sat, Aug 21, 2010 at 9:34 PM, Vijay <vijay at osco.in> wrote:

> Free Software is Open Source Software.
>
> Open Source software may not necessarily be Free Software.
>
> Agreed so far.


> Open Source allows the coder more control over his program compared to Free
> Software.
>

I don't think so. Lets see an example:

You see, I'm a coder and  gave my code to people in hope that it will be
useful to somebody and
I did not want to restrict him from getting that knowledge. Then someone
took my source code and benefited from it
and after few years modified it to work on a new machine.

Now isn't it natural for me to expect that he should give that ported code
back to me and society so that i need not port it myself? I, personally, and
society, in general, had helped him and shouldn't i at the least expect that
he should return the favor by contributing back to society?

If i had released it as free software(eg: using  GPL) this would have
happened automatically. But not all open source licenses does this. In fact
this is a major point in which Open Source Initiative differs from Free
Software. (@Balaji, hope this cleared your doubt)

Now say, which gives more control to me(the coder)? I, the coder, expect
people who benefit from free knowledge to contribute back to it.

-- 
*அகிலன்* (Akilan R)
(http://www.coding-aviator.blogspot.com)
*I should have no use for a paradise in which I should be deprived of the
right to prefer hell.*
  --Jean Rostand