]> On Wed, Jan 22, 2003 at 05:57:27PM +0100, Michaël Grünewald wrote: > > > should know what they just agreed to. And unfortunately, most software > > licenses never get read; they're just too damn long and complex. If > > you're an open source developer, you have probably read the GPL, but I'd > > wager most end users haven't. And you have undoubtedly also used > > Microsoft products. Have you ever read their EULA in its entirety? I bet > > you haven't. > > Oh, these poor little users that want to use software without any > effort, that's so lovely ... > > Any computer user must have read and understood the licence (or, less > bad than nothing, a digest) of the software it uses. This is pointless > to care of the ones that do not. Even if they come from the whole > majority, faults must not be agreed but fighted against. In principle I agree that users should not expect to be able to use software without effort. I certainly have invested considerable effort to develop my own skills, both as a user and a developer, and I am proud that I have done so (and continue to do so). But I also believe that computers and software developers should serve society, not vice versa. You are entitled to take whatever attitude you choose toward users; I choose a different attitude from yours. One reason is that I am interested in using my software to attract consulting business, and perhaps at some point to develop a commercial product. So for me, users are potentially customers, and if I made statements like yours I would not have any customers (actually I have none right now anyway, but I'm working on that ;-). You should also note that I am an American living in the U.S., and you have to be a little bit stupid to get along in this society. That is one of many things I don't like about American culture, but there's not very much that one person can do about it. I agree with you also that one should fight for principles and right-thinking, but you have to be moderate if you want people to listen ... at least I, in my country, have to; maybe your situation is different. In any case, if I were uninterested in challenging the status quo, I wouldn't be using OCaml, would I? -- Matt Gushee When a nation follows the Way, Englewood, Colorado, USA Horses bear manure through mgushee@havenrock.com its fields; http://www.havenrock.com/ When a nation ignores the Way, Horses bear soldiers through its streets. --Lao Tzu (Peter Merel, trans.) ------------------- To unsubscribe, mail caml-list-request@inria.fr Archives: http://caml.inria.fr Bug reports: http://caml.inria.fr/bin/caml-bugs FAQ: http://caml.inria.fr/FAQ/ Beginner's list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ocaml_beginners