www/philosophy who-does-that-server-really-serv...

[Richard M. Stallman]

CVSROOT:        /web/www
Module name:    www
Changes by:     Richard M. Stallman <rms>       15/11/21 22:57:18

Modified files:
        philosophy     : who-does-that-server-really-serve.html 

Log message:
        Explain that a rented server is effectively yours.

CVSWeb URLs:
http://web.cvs.savannah.gnu.org/viewcvs/www/philosophy/who-does-that-server-really-serve.html?cvsroot=www&r1=1.53&r2=1.54

Patches:
Index: who-does-that-server-really-serve.html
===================================================================
RCS file: /web/www/www/philosophy/who-does-that-server-really-serve.html,v
retrieving revision 1.53
retrieving revision 1.54
diff -u -b -r1.53 -r1.54
--- who-does-that-server-really-serve.html      5 Jan 2015 12:55:21 -0000       
1.53
+++ who-does-that-server-really-serve.html      21 Nov 2015 22:57:17 -0000      
1.54
@@ -161,11 +161,12 @@
 <p>Many free software supporters assume that the problem of SaaSS will
 be solved by developing free software for servers.  For the server
 operator's sake, the programs on the server had better be free; if
-they are proprietary, their owners have power over the server.  That's
-unfair to the server operator, and doesn't help the users at all.  But if the
-programs on the server are free, that doesn't protect <em>the server's
-users</em> from the effects of SaaSS.  These programs liberate the
-server operator, but not the server's users.</p>
+they are proprietary, their developers/owners have power over the
+server.  That's unfair to the server operator, and doesn't help the
+server's users at all.  But if the programs on the server are free,
+that doesn't protect <em>the server's users</em> from the effects of
+SaaSS.  These programs liberate the server operator, but not the
+server's users.</p>
 
 <p>Releasing the server software source code does benefit the
 community: it enables suitably skilled users to set up similar
@@ -175,13 +176,14 @@
 often used on servers.</p>
 
 <p>But none of these servers would give you control over computing you
-do on it, unless it's <em>your</em> server.  It may be OK to trust
-your friend's server for some jobs, just as you might let your friend
-maintain the software on your own computer.  Outside of that, all
-these servers would be SaaSS for you.  SaaSS always subjects you to
-the power of the server operator, and the only remedy is, <em>Don't
-use SaaSS!</em>  Don't use someone else's server to do your own
-computing on data provided by you.</p>
+do on it, unless it's <em>your</em> server (one whose software load
+you control, regardless of whether the machine is your property).  It
+may be OK to trust your friend's server for some jobs, just as you
+might let your friend maintain the software on your own computer.
+Outside of that, all these servers would be SaaSS for you.  SaaSS
+always subjects you to the power of the server operator, and the only
+remedy is, <em>Don't use SaaSS!</em>  Don't use someone else's server
+to do your own computing on data provided by you.</p>
 
 <p>This issue demonstrates the depth of the difference between
 &ldquo;open&rdquo; and &ldquo;free&rdquo;.  Source code that is open
@@ -212,7 +214,7 @@
 <p>Another clear example is using a service such as Flickr or
 Instagram to modify a photo.  Modifying photos is an activity that
 people have done in their own computers for decades; doing it in a
-server instead of your own computer is SaaSS.</p>
+server you don't control, rather than your own computer, is SaaSS.</p>
 
 <p>Rejecting SaaSS does not mean refusing to use any network servers
 run by anyone other than you.  Most servers are not SaaSS because the
@@ -248,10 +250,10 @@
 facility for your own site <em>is</em> SaaSS.</p>
 
 <p>Purchasing online is not SaaSS, because the computing
-isn't <em>your own</em>; rather, it is done jointly by and for you and
-the store.  The real issue in online shopping is whether you trust the
-other party with your money and other personal information (starting
-with your name).</p>
+isn't <em>your own</em> activity; rather, it is done jointly by and
+for you and the store.  The real issue in online shopping is whether
+you trust the other party with your money and other personal
+information (starting with your name).</p>
 
 <p>Repository sites such as as Savannah and SourceForge are not
 inherently SaaSS, because a repository's job is publication of data
@@ -323,6 +325,20 @@
 For the sake of clear thinking about computing, let's avoid the term
 &ldquo;cloud.&rdquo;</p>
 
+<h3>Renting a Server Distinguished from SaaSS</h3>
+
+<p>If you rent a server (real or virtual), whose software load you
+have control over, that's not SaaSS.  In SaaSS, someone else decides
+what software runs on the server and therefore controls the computing
+it does for you.  In the case where you install the software on the
+server, you control what computing it does for you.  Thus, the rented
+server is virtually your computer.  For this issue, it counts as
+yours.</p>
+
+<p>The <em>data</em> on the rented remote server is less secure than
+if you had the server at home, but that is a separate issue from
+SaaSS.</p>
+
 <h3>Dealing with the SaaSS Problem</h3>
 
 <p>Only a small fraction of all web sites do SaaSS; most don't raise
@@ -431,7 +447,7 @@
 
 <p class="unprintable">Updated:
 <!-- timestamp start -->
-$Date: 2015/01/05 12:55:21 $
+$Date: 2015/11/21 22:57:17 $
 <!-- timestamp end -->
 </p>
 </div>