[kwlug disc.] "people don't respect what they don't pay for"

[Charles McColm]

> Subject: [kwlug disc.] "people don't respect what they don't pay for"

Devil's advocate here: I agree with this sentiment sometimes. I think Robert
was referring to software, but it extends to services too. Yes, it's
important to spread the word of FLOSS and share our knowledge, but at what
point do you say "hey friend, I have to eat too?"

We've all done jobs for friends that "would only take a minute" which, in
reality took much longer not because of lack of expertise, but because the
job was time consuming, but we did it anyway out of
friendship/kinship/whatever. Some people take advantage of the situation.

I've bought versions of SuSE, Red Hat, and Mandrake, and I've never been
unhappy with paying for a distribution. The manuals that came with each
distribution were great, and in the case of SuSE 9.2, exceptional! The
manual for any version of Windows pales in comparison!

As Richard mentioned lots of people do "pay" for Linux with contributions
back to the community. And whether it's through standing up at a LUG
meeting, contributing kernel code, sending up artwork, or organizing
something like Ontario Linux Fest there's a multitude of ways to "pay" for
software. Still... contributions don't necessarily pay bills...

Charles McColm,charlesm at theworkingcentre.org
Project Manager, Computer Recycling, 
The Working Centre: 
http://www.theworkingcentre.org/cr
Phone: (519) 743-1151 x. 121, 
Fax: (519) 743-9452