Free Your Phone

[Sean Moss-Pultz]

[sorry, I pressed the wrong button before I finished]

On 1/22/07 5:28 PM, "Milan Votava" <votava at mageo.cz> wrote:

> At 05:35 22.1.2007, you wrote:
>> On 1/22/07 4:58 AM, "Milan Votava" <votava at mageo.cz> wrote:
>> 
>>> It would be nice to know if Sean's aim is
>>> 
>>> 1. to satisfy his and our need for open source toys like Neo
>>> 
>>> or
>>> 
>>> 2. to earn money like almost everybody on this planet while
>>> exploiting geeks like us to achieve his goal :-)
>>> 
>>> 
>>> I bet the second will prove as true...
>> 
>> I wasn't going to respond to this email, but I find your response quite
>> arrogant and feel I need correct you.
>> 
>> Never has this project been about exploiting people. If you ready _any_ of
>> our documents you will find that we're trying to create an open ecosystem
>> for the mobile industry. Sure I hope this will make us money. Otherwise I
>> would have neither A) the credit or B) the financial resources to go on
>> pursuing my dreams.
>> 
>> -Sean
> 
> (sorry for my English)
> 
> Don't get me wrong. I like (and share) your idea and I will try to be
> among the first wave of people who will buy the device (if I will be
> allowed after my post ;-) ) and start to develop for it.
> 
> The only problem I have as a developer with the project is it's real
> identity. Today in the time of a 'new' internet economy is becoming
> very common to use communities as a part of a business plan and
> camouflage this step as another open source geeky projects (like the
> ones hosted on sourceforge etc). While I have no problem to invest my
> energy and free time to work on these enthusiastic projects I will
> be(maybe as a only one in this group) more careful to do the same for
> the project where my position will be reduced to become a member of
> an external workforce (from the perspective of you or the company
> behind it) who is not even on a payroll.
> 
> 
> (sorry for my English)
> 
> Don't get me wrong. I like (and share) your idea and I will try to be
> among the first wave of people who will buy the device (if I will be
> allowed after my post ;-) ) and start to develop for it.

Then why claim that I'm trying to exploit people?
 
> The only problem I have as a developer with the project is it's real
> identity. Today in the time of a 'new' internet economy is becoming
> very common to use communities as a part of a business plan and
> camouflage this step as another open source geeky projects (like the
> ones hosted on sourceforge etc). While I have no problem to invest my
> energy and free time to work on these enthusiastic projects I will
> be(maybe as a only one in this group) more careful to do the same for
> the project where my position will be reduced to become a member of
> an external workforce (from the perspective of you or the company
> behind it) who is not even on a payroll.

I fear that this is getting into a "Free Will" type argument. Nobody's
holding a gun to your head and saying "Develop for OpenMoko or your dead."
What you do with our code is your choice. That's what GPL is all about.
 
> I don't see anything arrogant on my post and I consider my question
> as a legitimate one in the context of a really open community.

I now understand that English is not your native tongue. Please forgive my
directness, being a foreigner myself, I understand what it's like to use the
wrong words unintentionally ;-)

"Exploit" used in the context of people, is something not to be taking
lightly. I _really_ don't want to come across as guy trying to exploit
others for my personal benefit. Creating this project was not for
exploitation. I sincerely want to see an open phone because I think it will
benefit many people, including myself.

But again, if you still feel this is exploitation, there are many companies
making closed phones. Go buy one of them.

-Sean