A well known company, Valve, that distributes nonfree computer games with Digital Restrictions Management, recently announced it would distribute these games for GNU/Linux. What good and bad effects can this have?
I suppose that availability of popular nonfree programs on GNU/Linux can boost adoption of the system. However, our goal goes beyond making this system a “success”; its purpose is to bring freedom to the users. Thus, the question is how this development affects users' freedom.
Nonfree game programs (like other nonfree programs) are unethical because they deny freedom to their users. (Game art is a different issue, because it isn't software.) If you want freedom, one requisite for it is not having nonfree programs on your computer. That much is clear.
However, if you're going to use these games, you're better off using them on GNU/Linux rather than on Microsoft Windows. At least you avoid the harm to your freedom that Windows would do.
Thus, in direct practical terms, this development can do both harm and good. It might encourage GNU/Linux users to install these games, and it might encourage users of the games to replace Windows with GNU/Linux. My guess is that the direct good effect will be bigger than the direct harm. But there is also an indirect effect: what does the use of these games teach people in our community?
Any GNU/Linux distro that comes with software to offer these games will teach users that the point is not freedom. Nonfree software in GNU/Linux distros already works against the goal of freedom. Adding these games to a distro would augment that effect.
If you want to promote freedom, please take care not to talk about the availability of these games on GNU/Linux as support for our cause. Instead you could tell people about the Liberated Pixel Cup free game contest, the Free Game Dev Forum, and the LibrePlanet Gaming Collective's free gaming night.
Scottish Martial Arts wrote on Jul 31, 2012, 11:47:
I have a lot of respect for what Stallman did in terms of completely rewriting nearly every Unix utility and making it open source, thus laying the groundwork for Linux. I mean, if you look at the man page for any given Linux utility, chances are it's going to say that the program was written by Stallman. Furthermore, he was instrumental in starting the open-source movement, and thus anyone that uses opensource software -- you like this website? I'd be willing to bet that the web server runs off of some variant of Linux -- owes him a little bit of respect.
Now that said, the dude is quite the nutter. Shit like this post, confirms it. The GNU manifesto -- read it sometime: it's a hoot -- is a rambling diatribe that only occasionally resorts to cogent argument. Furthermore, his insistence on ALL software being opensource, not just some or even most, is hopelessly naive. Again, I like the influence this guy has had on computing, but damn if he isn't a weird one.