Re: [Fsfe-uk] The Reg on RMS in London

[Ralph Janke]

James Heald wrote:

> Alex Hudson wrote:
>
> > On Tue, 2004-05-25 at 16:32, James Heald wrote:
> >
> > > ... doesn't like his dead Africans analogy
> > >     http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/05/25/stallman_lecture/
> >
> >
> >
> > I found that commentary strange. When I read it, I assumed RMS was
> > drawing a parallel between software patents blocking innovation and
> > pharmaceutical patents blocking healthcare - whereas, the Reg argument
> > seems to be more of a 'RMS Godwin'd himself by talking about AIDs in
> > Africa' if you see what I mean.
> >
> > RMS's point read to me as a subtle 'patents can destroy communities' -
> > whereas they seemed to see it as an inflammatory 'stopping programmers
> > working is like letting Africans die', which I don't think (hope :) was
> > his point.
> > That said, even if he meant what I thought he did but was interpreted by
> > the Reg to mean something else, it probably was a bad analogy, probably
> > not one I would use personally (or could have been made more explicitly
> > about patents - but of course, without the original text, we don't know
> > what he said....)
>
>
> His line was that when Governments say "look, software patents aren't 
> so bad, there are lots of free software projects still standing", this 
> holds about as much water as saying "Look, AIDS isn't so bad, there 
> are lots of Africans still standing".
>
> The problem with the analogy is just what Lucy Sheffield says -- from 
> the point of view of bare logical structure, maybe it is an effective 
> reductio ad absurdum.  But that ignores the human level, where even 
> hinting at any comparability between the two is likely to draw a sharp 
> intake of breath, and in very questionable taste.
I don't see the problem here. Freedom and liberty are for me as 
essential for quality of live as is health. If software patents restrict 
my ability to enjoy my interests in an unwarranted way, than it is for 
me not very different to a desease that deabilitates me to follow my 
interests in that way. And just to complete the record I have been 
chronically sick over some period of time that almost let to my dead. 
Actually be doctors were amazed that I hadn't died. And I can tell you 
the time leading up to the point when the problem was found an cured was 
very deabilitating. Even that is not necessarily 100% comparable with a 
desease which has no cure.

That are my very personal 2 cent,

Ralph Janke