Re: [h-e-w] Re: Gnus, anyone?

[Matt McClure]

On Tue Dec 18 2001, 18:27, Jason Rumney <address@hidden> wrote:

> Michael Campbell <address@hidden> writes:
> 
> > > > I use Pegasus ( http://www.pmail.com ) on MS Windows, mostly
> > > > because it's free
> > > 
> > > No it is not. It just doesn't cost any money to download the
> > > compiled program.
> > 
> > It seems that it is.
> > 
> > >From the "Ordering" page (http://www.pmail.com/manuals.htm)...
> 
> An unfounded claim that something is free does not make it so.
> 
> Although the author has offered to make the source code available to
> "a suitably-constituted development team" to port Pegasus to a
> GNU/Linux operating system, the "suitably-constituted development
> team" would have to sign an NDA, and let the original author control
> the distribution of binary versions of the program. This is not free
> by any known definition of the term.

>From http://www.dictionary.com/cgi-bin/dict.pl?term=free

    7a. Costing nothing; gratuitous

Just because Pegasus doesn't conform to GNU's definition of "free"
doesn't mean it isn't free "by *any* known definition of the term".
It's seems that the OP is not familiar with GNU's definition.  Rather
than bicker about semantics, you might have pointed the OP to
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html, which would have been
helpful rather than argumentative.

-- 
Matt
http://www.faradic.net/~mmcclure/

    "I don't believe in rivalries.  I don't believe in curses.  Wake
     up the damn Bambino, maybe I'll drill him in the (behind)."
        -Pedro Martinez