That's what the communists called banning religion and many other things. The only one here that has called for banning anything is Coral Snake who wants to get rid of the GPL by legal force, not voluntarily moving to a more liberal license like the BSD one. Most Linux users and open source users in general don't want commercial software banned. I use Windows XP with Litestep replacing Windows Explorer. I also use OpenOffice 1.1RC3, Mozilla Firebird and Thunderbird. I have a Linux partition, but rarely use it anymore.
Freedom, as the Linux crowd defines it, is smashing intellectual property rights, banning proprietary software and the right to produce as the public sees fit to buy.
- No, the goal of open source developers is to take away the copyright holder's absolute control over every copy and create something similar to private physical property rights for end users in the software they buy. Note that the GPL says that if you never modify the software, the GPL doesn't even apply to you!
- Banning proprietary software? Not only will pigs be flying when most of us OSS users want that, but we will have to worry about the Free Flying Oinker Air Force bombing our cities from orbital weapons platforms
- Blah blah blah we want to ban this right to produce this way. I guess such outrageous claims are consistent with someone who supports Microsoft, a company whose executives are allowed to libel every OSS developer by saying that they "just know that Microsoft copyrights and patents have been stolen by them."
is government regulation against protecting private property
And what what do all copyright expansionists and closed source supporters want to give us?
- CBDTPA-go to prison and get a felony on your record for removing the government mandated DRM from your hardware and software; go to prison for producing a computer WITHOUT government mandated DRM; let the government MANDATE DRM
- DMCA-document the flaws in DRM, go to prison; think someone is infringing on your copyrights? subpoena them without getting a judge's approval!
It is the group that hates OSS with a passion second to none that wants the government to control every aspect of computer production. God bless them, they're not capable of seeing that they're Fascists, not capitalists. Fascists find nothing wrong with government mandated DRM, government banning this license, banning that research. There is no way to reconcile most IP laws with laissez faire capitalism. Orthodox capitalist theory doesn't recognize ANY right to profit off of one's labor. If the market circumvents your artifically created scarcity then tough luck in a pure capitalist system.
"the goal of open source developers is to take away the copyright holder's absolute control over every copy and create something similar to private physical property rights for end users in the software they buy"
See, that's where the open source crowd forgets reality and starts down the road of something that doesn't exist.
NO software company "sells" software, they "license" it. In other words, you have purchased the right to use someone's idea and creation. You have no right of ownership.
You already have the physical rights of onwership in the sense that the CD you purchased can be used as you see fit, just not its contents.
This is like a book. You own the book, but not its contents. You may read that book anywhere you see fit, but you may not reproduce or publish its contents. It's been that way for centuries and has worked just fine.
As I said, the open source crowd wants to prohibit intellectual proeprty rights, but they pee on our legs and tells us it is raining when they say it's about physical property rights.