Software Servant

I am a strange person - or so my daughter tells me. I enjoy learning how things work. Seeing what makes them tick. Because some day I'll run across a problem that bit of information solves. I am a problem solver, a designer, an architect. All of those random jigsaw pieces create a real, vivid picture.

Instincts play an important role. You read an article on the web and say yeah, that works. It's the kind of thing you can not explain logically. You see the right answer, but not why that solution works.

Instincts work in the other direction too. Some solutions never feel right. Again, you can't bullet point why. Your gut just says this isn't right. The infamous software EULA always struck me that way. It never felt right. And I never understood why.

Then my wife and I attended a Financial Peace University class. The teacher - Dave Ramsey - gives a lesson entitled Dumping Debt. He describes debt as a chain on your life. The class is worth your time just to see Dave twist himself up in the prop chain. But during the lesson, Dave emphasizes Proverbs 22:7...

The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.

The software companies who peddle an EULA understand that concept. It's not head knowledge to them. They have it in their hearts. The very essence of an EULA is that you, the consumer, borrow their property. Read that legalese in the tiny text box very carefully. Read it, understand it, and tell me who owns the software.

You borrow their software. The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.

	You	=	Borrower
	Borrower	=	Servant
Then...	You	=	Servant

But, but, but... it's my software and my computer!

Not according to the contract you promised to uphold. That software belongs to them. And they will loan it to you on their own terms. The borrower is servant to the lender.

Well, if I don't like their terms then I'll just stop using their software.

And what will you do with all of the bank account history stored in QuickBooks? How do you intend to read the MS Word documents your boss sends? You borrowed their software. And that software is the only gateway to your information. The borrower is servant to the lender.

I learned about the GPL years ago when researching Red Hat Linux. I read the license itself - a chore and not terribly helpful. And I read the plain English explanation. It was one of those aha! moments when you know, in your gut, that this solution is right. The GPL felt right. Every instinct screamed here's a solution! But I could not understand why.

Now I do - The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.