On 25 Sep 2015 4:32 am, "Martin Owens" <doctormo@...400...> wrote:
>
> On Thu, 2015-09-24 at 22:13 +0100, C R wrote:
> > I think saying that Inkscape "can be sold" is a rather confusing thing
> > to say to our users. I rather think it's more important to say that
> > Inkscape is free, and it was designed to always be free.
>
> No, inkscape was designed to be a vector/svg editor.

I believe that describes the function, rather than the philosophy. It was designed as both, no?

> > If people want to invest in Inkscape so they can turn around and sell
> > it, they are investing for the wrong reasons, imho.

> Why? Those are some great reasons to invest to be honest. Better they be
> involved then sneaking away into some Internet backwater to sell
> Inkscape and never give back or even take responsibility to fix bugs for
> their customers. (nor should we give anyone an excuse to hide their
> commercial activities by being anti-commercial)

People will sneak away into the backwaters of the internet to do that regardless of if we say it's okay or not. I'm not saying "hire no developers", but why would people buy Inkscape when it's free? When the source (must) be available for everyone to compile and distribute, and modify? I can see a donation option at download, but that's not the same as selling Inkscape... I don't think? What is your vision for this?

> For this sort of thing, we'll want to talk about Inkscape as a tool
> first.

Well obviously. Lol. Just saying the sale-ability
of the Inkscape compiled code, when you must provide source code for all your modifications is pretty low on the list of things to entice people with... compared to pretty much every thing else Inkscape can do/has to offer.

Generally when buying software you buy a license for use of the software. Generally on a per-user or per-machine basis. I guess I don't understand how that works for free software.

At any rate, none of this worries me. I'm just trying to form an accurate picture of our mission statement and talking points, and I appreciate the help in understanding. :)

Here is a list of the reasons why Inkscape is worth my time, in terms of my contributions to the project:

1. Inkscape is a fantastic tool for vector editing and can output to formats useful for professional graphics work (svg, png, pdf, etc.)
2.Inkscape is free to use without limitations or licence fees, and this can be given along with creative materials to a client allowing them to make further modifications as desired, which supports svg as an open standard.
3.You retain all rights to your own graphics works created with Inkscape, without any limitations imposed by the software.
4.Since Inkscape is free, it can be used to teach commercial graphic design without the need to steal proprietary software (which is the norm). There is less of a financial barrier in order to learn.
5.Inkscape is cross platform, so users are free to choose whatever os they like most, or happen to have already, which eliminates setup, or switching barriers. One can get started learning and using Inkscape in just a few minutes.
6.It's free and open source, and respects users essential freedoms.
7.It's community maintained so need never die because of corporate interests/problems. It exists outside the concerns of profitability. It transcends it, because the code can be picked up at any time and work can continue on the project.
8.Work that goes into the project gives to and benefits the entire world, for all reasons mentioned above. When you donate time/money/code etc to the project, you are joining a fine community with a long tradition of giving. It's contributing to something greater than yourself, for the benefit of everyone.

These are just my personal reasons.
Thanks for your thoughts, as always.

-C

> Martin,
>