Packaging the software in a distro with an installer and a custom DE adds a lot of value.
I’m not familiar with Zorin specifically, but freely distributing source code and charging for binaries was one of the earliest monetization strategies for GPL code.
Yet, when Microsoft, Apple and every other proprietary software house do it with permissively licensed code, I don’t see anybody complaining.
The declaration of intent by the author is the license. If they don’t want commercial redistribution of their work, do like Futo. Otherwise we’ll all start taking crazy pills and demand people adhere to an imagined restriction that isn’t written anywhere.
Packaging the software in a distro with an installer and a custom DE adds a lot of value.
I’m not familiar with Zorin specifically, but freely distributing source code and charging for binaries was one of the earliest monetization strategies for GPL code.
Yeah… for the authors. That’s fine. You downloading my FOSS, packaging it and selling it is slimy carpet-baggery.
Yet, when Microsoft, Apple and every other proprietary software house do it with permissively licensed code, I don’t see anybody complaining.
The declaration of intent by the author is the license. If they don’t want commercial redistribution of their work, do like Futo. Otherwise we’ll all start taking crazy pills and demand people adhere to an imagined restriction that isn’t written anywhere.
That’s the thing with ethics: they aren’t generally written anywhere. That’s where being a decent human being comes in.
Doing exactly what an author intended with their work is very ethical indeed.