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Cyhist Dec 2 1998 B
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========================================================================= Date: Wed, 2 Dec 1998 02:43:34 -0600
Reply-To: "CYHIST Community Memory: Discussion list on the History of
Cyberspace" <CYHIST@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU> Sender: "CYHIST Community Memory: Discussion list on the History of
Cyberspace" <CYHIST@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU> From: Doug Yowza <yowza@YOWZA.COM>
Subject: Re: Earliest "free software"
In-Reply-To: <19981125164125.A7606@thyrsus.com> MIME-Version: 1.0
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Community Memory: Discussion List on the History of Cyberspace ______________________________________________________________________
On Wed, 25 Nov 1998, Eric S. Raymond wrote:
>I am trying to date and locate the roots of the Internet "free software" culture. Specifically, I'm trying to pin down when sharing of software over the Internet or UUCP between people with no face-to-face contact first became a routine and marked feature of hacker behavior.
You might consider looking at history of "user groups," which goes *way* back. The net simply facilitated the free sharing of user-writen apps.
An interesting tanget (given your well-known interest in Bill Gates) is Bill Gate's infamous "don't give my BASIC away for free" letter that was distributed in the mid 1970's. If you can't find a copy, let me know -- I think I have a digital version someplace.
The early RFC's document instances of software sharing as well. In fact, UUCP and similar transports were themselves freeware, so the entire net pretty was pretty much bootstrapped on freeware.
-- Doug
______________________________________________________________________
Reply-To: "CYHIST Community Memory: Discussion list on the History of
Cyberspace" <CYHIST@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU> Sender: "CYHIST Community Memory: Discussion list on the History of
Cyberspace" <CYHIST@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU> From: Doug Yowza <yowza@YOWZA.COM>
Subject: Re: Earliest "free software"
In-Reply-To: <19981125164125.A7606@thyrsus.com> MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
______________________________________________________________________
Community Memory: Discussion List on the History of Cyberspace ______________________________________________________________________
On Wed, 25 Nov 1998, Eric S. Raymond wrote:
>I am trying to date and locate the roots of the Internet "free software" culture. Specifically, I'm trying to pin down when sharing of software over the Internet or UUCP between people with no face-to-face contact first became a routine and marked feature of hacker behavior.
You might consider looking at history of "user groups," which goes *way* back. The net simply facilitated the free sharing of user-writen apps.
An interesting tanget (given your well-known interest in Bill Gates) is Bill Gate's infamous "don't give my BASIC away for free" letter that was distributed in the mid 1970's. If you can't find a copy, let me know -- I think I have a digital version someplace.
The early RFC's document instances of software sharing as well. In fact, UUCP and similar transports were themselves freeware, so the entire net pretty was pretty much bootstrapped on freeware.
-- Doug
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