[OT] MPlayer is in trouble - All my thoughts go with you.

[Derick Centeno]

I'm surprised at some people's attitude about this.

There appears to be no question as to the fact that artwork is 
recognized as belonging to one individual.  I never heard of anyone in 
Europe or anywhere else for that matter giving respect or credence to 
art developed in committee.  Art is Art because it is by essence an 
individual project.  A Van Gogh is unique.  As is Picasso.  As is 
DaVinci.  A similar view of Music and its works exist.  The Clash is 
not the Beatles is not Beethoven, etc.  Each artistic group and 
achievement demands and deserves unique recognition for it's 
accomplishments.

Software, is one more category of recognized talent and achievement.  
Whether it is of a cooperative corporate nature or strictly small 
business, respecting and acknowledge the efforts of prior work is only 
appropriate.  If one is however going to use, apply, borrow or outright 
steal work of others and put that into so called Free Software that is 
not what either GPL or any self-respecting programmer should be doing 
in the first place.  If a company or any author of any work chooses not 
to participate in the GPL or Open Source environment that is a choice 
to be respected.  In consideration of the nature of Open Source and the 
spirit of the GPL some companies expand the manner in which they 
participate in how they both protect their patents and work and yet 
allow a certain amount of recognized parameters of leeway.  Apple has 
done this with Darwin for example and defined a kind of unique Open 
Source in which it feels it can cooperate with.  Some companies do 
similarly; others are entirely hostile to any such concept.

Corporate individuals as such and by definition all individual 
inventors have the right to choose how they will behave and approach 
the Open Source issue and the opportunity and challenge it represents.  
What benefits no one however is a retention of communistic values that 
confuse a willingness to share with outright theft to some right of the 
public or masses of peoples.  The public as such benefits when 
individuals are safe and can share what they choose to share or NOT, in 
respectful recognition.  This is as old as a children's ball game.  The 
bat and ball played with belong to someone or some group although a 
community of people are playing with the items; there is no question at 
the end of the game to return the items to the owners or is there?  
Depending on how one answers that question determines all other 
relationships... there is a great deal of difference between 
recognition and appreciation and outright disrespect of original 
effort.  What kind of people we are and whom we wish to be reflects how 
we choose to address this issue, and all others like it.

On Mar 27, 2005, at 9:16 PM, Andrew wrote:

>  Just log on their website... I am ashamed. It deeply hurts my 
> feelings.
> Kiss you freedom goodbye, friends.
>
>  What's next?
>
>
> http://www.mplayerhq.com/
>
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