gene heskett posted on Sat, 16 Jul 2011 16:54:32 -0400 as excerpted:
> Hijacking a thread here, but it sure needs help. When okular is set to
> auto-scale, it sends to a US letter printer about 9" wide, so the right
> hand inch is missing. Whomever decided it should be FF's default pdf
> reader needs a very close examination of their thinker. Adobe reader
> Just Works(TM).
But adobe's reader is not freedomware, so some distributions and/or users
will choose not to use it. I couldn't legally install it here, for
instance, since I can't agree to EULAs, etc, which means I don't have
permission from the copyright holder to install and use the software,
making it illegal for me to do so.
Making servantware the default on an otherwise freedomware distribution
therefore makes no sense either.
(Legality: Among other things, most software including freedomware
waives the authors responsibility for damages, etc. If it's freedomware,
OK, the source code is there for me to examine or if I don't read source,
to have someone that I trust that can read source examine, so I can
fairly judge whether I want to take on that responsibility or not. If
it's closed source, it's black-box, so I can't fairly judge functionality
and whether I want to take on the responsibility for damages, etc, and
thus I cannot agree to take them on. Again, that generally means the
copyright holder doesn't give me permission to run the program, since I
refuse to waive his responsibility for damages since I can't fairly judge
whether that's a reasonable request or not because I can't read the
sources in ordered to make that judgement. Since I don't have such
permission from the copyright holder, US law says I don't have permission
period, again making it illegal for me to do so. Of course the fact that
the author/copyright holder of said black-box software has already
disregarded the four software freedoms, his motives are already suspect,
so that gives me all the MORE reason not to simply assume he has my
interests at heart and take responsibility for something I'm unable to
fairly examine before I'm asked to take that responsibilty!)
--
Duncan - List replies preferred. No HTML msgs.
"Every nonfree program has a lord, a master --
and if you use the program, he is your master." Richard Stallman
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