[ILUG] Renaming the ILUG

[Sascha Lucky Luck]

Thus spoke John P. Looney:
>  That's the thing. Even I can be conned into thinking that non-free
> software will do the job. And it doesn't. you are locking into the reality
> of having paid money for something that isn't quite what you want, and
> then not being able to fix it (unless you chuck it out - which is easy, if
> it's free software. Less easy if you've paid for it).

We have a (sort of) policy of paying money only after extensive testing - 
and IF it works. In principle, you're right, of course - Joe L. User
won't have that prvilege.

>  How can laws to increase freedom of the public be compared to filtering,
> key escrow, and censorship ?

A law to increase freedom? That's an oxymoron - laws, ad definitionem, 
*restrict* freedom. Even if it is the freedom of someone to read your mail.

>  Why can't they extend such laws to software & hardware ?

It probably will clash with existing copyright laws anyway (IANAL). Also, 
we may lose out in the end - why develop new technologies, etc, when 
you're not allowed to protect them? If hardware vendors could be obliged
to provide (documented) APIs for their stuff - now that would be a 
Good Thing (TM)...

>  And I've no intention of spending another two weeks working out why
> AOLserver couldn't use my LDAP extension when the Oracle module was loaded
> at the same time, again. I'd rather drink turpentine and piss on a brush
> fire.</texas accent>

AOLserver? sounds scary... Does it convert everything into ALL CAPS? ;o)

s.