Ken's Meme Deflector

Peddling the same prosaic resources you can get from a simple Google search

Saturday, September 27, 2003

Morality of Using Open Source Software

I've been giving some thought to whether it is right to use Open Source Software. On the one hand, by using OSS I contribute to an unjust system, where undeserving free-riders can benefit from the work of unrewarded developers. On the other hand, these unrewarded developers -- the altruists who create valuable software with no intention of collecting payment for their work -- I have to assume are intelligent people. Their decision to work for free, as self-destructive as it seems to me, is one I can only assume they made of their own conscious free will. They must expect some untangible reward for the work they do. So am I robbing a man if I accept from him what he insists on giving me in exchange for nothing?