The price of obeying the law

One thing that separates free software enthusiasts from "pirates" is the desire to be the good guys. We may not agree with copyright law, but rather than break them, we've opted to subvert them—to use them against themselves. The result is much more freedom for the user, who's suddenly liberated in ways that she might not even appreciate or even be aware of. But what would happen in a world where every user of proprietary software was forced to obey all those EULA's to their fullest extent? What if all those apathetic folks who don't care "as long as it does what I need it do" were suddenly faced with impervious DRM (digital restriction malware?) Friends, let me share with you a vision, albeit a metaphor. Meditate on it.

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