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Comment by fvdessen | Hacker News Reader

> Everyone is free to use the software. [...]

The rest of your reply disagrees with your first sentence. It seems that only the people who share ml5.js values are allowed to use the software. There's no problem with that, but they should be clear about it. They should also state clearly that ml5.js is not free or open source software, as its license violates the first principle of Free Software:

> The freedom to run the program as you wish, for any purpose (freedom 0).

And the similar principle in the OSI definition of Open Source

> No discrimination against fields of endeavor: The license must not restrict anyone from making use of the program in a specific field of endeavor. For example, it may not restrict the program from being used in a business, or from being used for genetic research.

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> The rest of your reply disagrees with your first sentence. It seems that only the people who share ml5.js values are allowed to use the software.

Any can use the software only for purposes in line with ml5.js values.

So everyone is free to use the software, just not for all the purposes that any particular person might choose. It's something like a bar with a "no racist language" sign: anyone can use the bar, they just have to abide by the rules, and if they chose not to, they can find another bar.

> only for purposes in line with ml5.js values

There are 2 caveats to that:

1. they can change their values at any time

2. they can decide at their sole discretion that your use isn't in line with their values, and you have no recourse.

> It's something like a bar with a "no racist language" sign: anyone can use the bar

The difference is that one wouldn't use the bar as a platform to build a business on, whereas one might build a business on software.

The things that people can do inside a bar are sufficiently limited that they will not normally impinge on their beliefs, so a good comparison is hard. It would be something like "you are not permitted to use this bar for the purpose of buying a drink to relax after a hard day developing nuclear weapons." This would be a pretty terrible thing for a bar to do and I would easily condemn it, even though it is merely "the rules".

> So everyone is free to use the software, just not for all the purposes that any particular person might choose.

Can a weapon manufacturing company use ml5.js ?

That's bullshit and you must know it. If, say, Donald Trump were to use the software to save puppies, the steering committee would find a reason that this is actually worse than Hitler.

Your comment makes no sense, and Donald wouldn't use anything to save puppies to begin with.

Why not?

Hitler literally saved puppies. He was a forerunner of animal rights. I don't know about the relationship between Trump and puppies but real people are more nuanced than a D&D alignment chart, and even despicable people can do good.

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