How I realised “Free Software” is a better term than “Open Source”
I&#x27;ve been kicking around a business plan idea for about seven years: A software marketplace for items under a GNU license. The key: I neglect to put that fact in the marketing.<p>The full license is posted with the software download, via a pop up EULA-style window before the download proceeds complete with an &quot;I Agree&quot; nuisance button.<p>The market starts with a price discovery model where I suggest a price and allow the person pay whatever they want. After some data gathering, I simply obfuscate the &quot;pick-your-price&quot; mechanism.<p>Yes, this is a bit of cherry-picking, where I employ some dark patterns. My reason for this thought experiment is the crux of this article and discussion: How do you explain software in the English language for which the rights of the end user are enshrined while leaving a profit-path open for the creator? My reply is: You don&#x27;t. You focus, instead, on making the process of obtaining the software as friendly and service-oriented as possible.<p>I wonder how spectacularly this idea will fail?