Mike wrote:
>
> For now either pay up or
> shut up! You are either a contributor or a leech which do you
> choose to be.
"Free" software, in any of it's meanings, doesn't imply it's users are "leeches". As someone who has both written (mine GPL'd) and uses "free" (GPL & Open Source) software I take great exception, indeed offense, at that characterization.
E-Smith now Mitel built upon the gifts of others and in return shares the benefit which they received. The licenses which they received their code with and thus work under obligate them to make available much of their code. They have then, out of either pragmatism or respect, chosen to offer further resources like the phorums, mailing lists, addt'l software, etc.
A small piece of code (trivial, years ago) which I contributed is in the Red Hat code that SME uses. Does that make Red Hat a leech to me? Mitel a leech to them? You, Mike, a leech on them and therefore to me? No, we're all part of a larger community that benefits from the sharing.
Your "pay up or shut up" line is both wrong and profoundly ignorant of the premises of free software. Yes, it is tiresome when folks ask over and over when something will be released, but that doesn't mean that they can't be proud users (and further developers) of the software in question.
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