MySQL license and revolution

[revolution at knowledgeworks.plus.com]

>> I thought MySQL was open source, doesn't sound open and free to me.
[snip]
>Sorry Mr. Stallman, but that's what happens in a "gift economy" when
>programmers are the only ones gifting while landlords and grocers still
>expect to be paid. ;)

MySQL is open source and free, but it is just that the position of the free software movement is more complex than it appears.

Stallman is more interested in the idea that software is free as in "unchained" ('free speech' not 'free beer'), and Stallman is not even opposed to people charging money for "fred" software:

"'Free software' does not mean 'non-commercial'. A free program must be available for commercial use, commercial development, and commercial distribution."
(http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html)

"Actually we encourage people who redistribute free software to charge as much as they wish or can. "
(http://www.gnu.ai.mit.edu/philosophy/selling.html)

"Except for one special situation, the GNU General Public License (20k characters) (GNU GPL) has no requirements about how much you can charge for distributing a copy of free software. You can charge nothing, a penny, a dollar, or a billion dollars. "
(http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/selling.html)

I don't believe he is contradictory.  His position is quite subtle.  

And I'm sure that a programmer of his massive ability with a different philosophical position would be massively richer than Stallman.

Some Linux people object to calling it "GNU/Linux", but there is quite a strong case for him and his project being given that credit.  This is the position followed by Debian, one of the most highly-respected GNU/Linux distributions.

Regards,
Bernard