[Fsf-india] IT Policy Govt of Kerala

[Khuzaima A. Lakdawala]

CK Raju <ckra@vsnl.net> writes:

> Now its level-playing field. Let the software compete with their 'technical 
> merits'.

Trying to "compete" solely on the basis of "technical merits" (even if
those merits are valid) of Free Software does a lot of damage to the
cause. It paints a wrong picture, makes it sound as if the raison
d'etre of Free Software is simply to provide "technically" better
software and trivialises the important freedoms provided by Free
Software.

Besides, this argument is dangerous when one comes across a particular
piece of proprietary software which is truly technically superior to
any comparable offering of Free Software (this is clearly not an
impossibility). The "technical merit" argument falls flat on its face
in situations like these. Whereas, if all advocacy and propagation is
based entirely on issues of freedom rather than technical and cost
issues, our arguments will remain consistent, sound and undefeatable.

-- 
Khuzaima A. Lakdawala