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Well, this is just the biggest piece of silliness I've seen in a long time. Clemens Vasters obviously doesn't understand the role of community-developed software in today's computing landscape, and how much of the internet he takes for granted was made possible by community-developed software. He also fails to notice that people contribute to software projects for other reasons than money. He also fails to notice that these community developed software projects have enabled many businesses to succeed. There's a lot that Clemens Vasters doesn't seem to understand.

Um, no. I don't have any problem with people contributing their time and resources -- but they shouldn't be blind to how their time and resources will be used. Companies like IBM are investing tens of millions of dollars in open source projects with the express desire to sell more hardware. They could care less about who you are and why you've contributed. For them, it's all about money. The Chinese and North Korean governments use open source to build out computing infrastructure for their military-industrial complexes. When you contribute to open source, you're propping up dictators in addition to the small business around the corner. Granted, some people don't care. Or they justify it by saying that, since it's available to everyone, then no harm, no foul. However, clearly, this is effort that those companies and governments would have had to expend if it weren't for your free labor. They're more free now to invest in work camps, armaments, guidance systems, and prisons. Commercial software companies aren't immune, either. They've donated tens of millions of dollars in what the average person might conclude are "kickbacks" to the Chinese government in order to do business in PRC. This is just as wrong.

I think that Clemens Vasters made some good points. It's reasonable to question why we do certain things; particularly young people, who often act without consideration of the consequences of their actions. Too many people don't understand their own motivations. Fame and/or riches are pretty shallow rewards. Even if all Vaster's letter does is promote discussion and understanding, it will have been worth writing. So don't criticize it unless you're willing to understand all sides of the issue -- not just your own narrow interests.