this post was submitted on 18 Jul 2026
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If you have access to the code, why is it not free?
Unfortunately having access to all the pixels that make up a movie or all the words that make up a book doesn’t make either free, and the same thing applies to code depending on licenses
Thank you :)
For example Unreal Engine is source available. Can't redistribute it, can't fork it and make a new version for the public. Still need to pay Epic when you release a game and make revenue over one million.
Some open source projects sell recompiled and signed copies and if you want it free, you can compile from source.
It’s a convenience thing…
License. The owner of the source can still limit what you can (legally) do with it.
Which raises the question: Is Karl Marx an MIT or a GPL man?
Under Communism, probably public domain. Under Capitalism definitely GPL.
https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/open-source-misses-the-point.html
In addition to the other comment, a lot of companies typically sell support for their software, not the software itself. That counts for a lot in the business world
Free doesn't mean free. It means free.
Yeah yeah I know, I just didn’t remember what free actually meant