Re: "The Free software Movement is a Scam" -Alfred Szmidt GNU.org

[Alfred M. Szmidt]

   He responded to me privately by email in response to a usenet post
   I made about Linus charging 5 grand to use the linux name.

gnu-misc-discuss@gnu.org is a mailing list that has a news->mail
gateway setup (mail->news seems broken).  And for the record, it
wasn't made privatly, it was CCed to the mailing list.

   But here is that catch...what good is freedom if I can't afford it?

Since you don't have the program to begin with, you can't claim any
kind of freedoms on it.  Only when you are in possession of the
program can you have any kind of claim to freedom.

   Isn't non-free software that I can use MORE important than
   expensive GPL software like Redhat Linux?

No, it isn't.  Since price has nothing to do with freedom.  You can
ask someone who has a copy of RedHat's version of the Linux kernel to
make you a copy though.

It kinda boils down to privacy (and not money), i.e. I shouldn't be
forced to give you my program if you don't have binary.

In short, you don't have any kind of freedoms to something that you
don't have in your possession.