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The Lantern: WTF?


I really, really hope this is just poor reporting:

Alek Rollyson, a third-year in information systems and the club’s president, said there is a difference between free software and open source software. Free software is like “free beer, or free as in it doesn’t cost me anything,” he said.

Open source software is not just free; it is open for development.

There’s no way an “Open Source Club” really said that, is there? It must be a clueless reporter, right?

Update 26 Jan 2010:

I contacted Mr. Rollyson and asked him for clarification on the article. He was kind enough to respond quickly:

The quote was misinterpreted in the interview, or I could have possibly been unclear.  The way the quote should have went was to point out the the “Free” in F/OSS does not just mean free as in beer, it means free as in freedom.  Free to develop, distribute, modify and so on.  I think the point of the free as in beer quote got lost in the rest of the conversation I had with the reporter.

Mr. Rollyson also further added:

Our philosophy has absolutely nothing to do with freeware.  Just thought I would make this clear so there isn’t any confusion.

So there you have it – it’s not uncommon for reporters to stumble a bit in technical discussions and I think that is what happened here.

This entry was posted on January 25, 2010, 7:37 pm and is filed under Free Software. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

  1. #1 by jcwarrior on January 25, 2010 - 10:51 pm

    It may be the case of a clueless member of the club *and* a clueless reporter. Clearly Alek Rollyson is confusing Free Software with freeware, and Jack Moore is implying that Free Software is not as “open” as Open Source.

    Here is the link of the Open Source Club:
    http://opensource.cse.ohio-state.edu/about

    It is interesting to note that the Open Source Club has a link to the Free Software Definition instead of the Open Source Definition. A link which the reporter didn’t note at all.

    What makes things more embarassing is that Alek Rollyson is the club’s president. He really should put more attention to the Open Source Club website and get informed of what Free Software is about by clicking on the *Free Sofware* link.

    • #2 by Jason on January 26, 2010 - 12:45 pm

      jcwarrior,

      Thanks for your comments!

      As you can see from the update, I contacted Mr. Rollyson and he clarified the situation. I’m sad that The Lantern article failed to get his point across effectively, but I am glad to report that he knows his stuff about FLOSS!

      • #3 by jcwarrior on January 27, 2010 - 5:39 am

        Jason:

        Thanks for the clarification.

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