Commercialization is always a sensible topic within the spheres of free, libre software and culture. Without any doubt we are all part of the capitalism, we are participants and we are active in rejecting alternative ideas or even discussions how we can treat capitalism towards ethics and moral, giving those two words more important stances. The big failure of free, libre software was and is to reject deeper analysis about its own nature including altruistic motivations. Within this article we want to give more insights on Hyperbola's stance on “Commercialization”.

So first we go on with strict and clear rules we name within this topic:

• Hyperbola is and was always a community-oriented project and system. So we build upon the support coming from the community.
• For sure Hyperbola as system can be also used for commercial interests as part of a free decision.
• We do not accept donations and financial support bound on conditions. And we reject those conditions in any way also, especially when it comes to packaging for payment or integration of a project for payment into Hyperbola as system.
• We accept donations and financial support only as the word says: Donation without any condition, not bound onwards any awaiting towards the system and the community.

Hyperbola is independent and has no plan to change this in any way. We have worked very hard to reach independence and our orientation to community-based software-projects and freedom in general. This also means that Hyperbola includes part-wise a strict understanding of anti-capitalism, but not in any shortened form or to demonize individuals or groups. Exactly out of this motivation we have written in the beginning of this article that we are all part of the problem and only we can change it first for our own, questioning our own motivation and deeds.

We have already written different articles about the failures free, libre software and its community have done (example). But here we want to underline the grounds for Hyperbola's motivation. Yes, we have used that one word now with “anti-capitalism”. Please understand here that this is first only a word. Surely there are different experiences and imaginations now associated with it and most the time it was and is used completely wrong. In a short form criticism towards capitalism is going most the time on demonized imagery: The so-called “good people” and the “bad people” on the other side. See here is the main reasoning why this is so emotional predefined and why it is important to take a stance but different made.

Hyperbola is a free and libre oriented system, so it is part of that people may use it for their own commercial interests and if we would forbid this, we would immediately also restrict the free decision of people. On the other side we have to acknowledge that capitalism without boundaries and rules has already brought our global society out of balancing. More people in poverty, more people in severe and dangerous situations, conflicts and wars going around and our environment is in danger. More explicit we endanger our own livelihoods. That is all part of we need to acknowledge and likewise pretending nothing happened is the worst thing to do.

For this reasoning Hyperbola is here to give on-going support for the mentioned architectures, to give people a free and libre system they can run on 32bit-hardware for example. And this is also the goal for the future. Also for this reasoning we have decided for minimalism, so we exclude active packages and software demanding more hardware-resources. And also for this reasoning we specify now clear that do have no interests including business-interests into our system.

Yes, Hyperbola GNU/Linux-libre and HyperbolaBSD can be used for business-interests. But there is difference using those and to demand inclusion of more “open-source”, more “not so free and libre oriented software”, more “pragmatism”, more apathy in the end. As long as the licensing fits somewhat, it should be working and good? That's not the way Hyperbola is intended, never was and never will be for sure.

The wording “radicale” is also another indifferent usage. Radicale in what? That we recognize absurd circumstances in ways of acting and living nowadays? But is there for real any choice left? Only because we position ourselves for a better tomorrow does not mean that we are already part of other groups or sympathize with their deeds. For this reasoning we have also added now this section: No, we do not automatically sympathize with everything others do under the naming-tag “anti-capitalism”. We just recognize and describe the problematic situation and our part-wise solution with our system-project granting people a chance for their own doing, under their control. And this also does not mean that we recognize topics like “communism” or / and “socialism” direct part of the solution as this is a discussion all people interested have to do, not we alone here for ourselves. And we are also not part of any further grouping, Hyperbola was and is always to be seen as independent and we are very critical to engage further in different parts. Out of that motivation we are oriented on our ways specified, others may do as they like. And even if we share perhaps comparable interests, this does not mean we are automatically to be seen as part of a greater group.

But we need more “radicale emotions” for sure in that part: As all is happening in our minds we also need to recognize that we can only solve problems together, not with single-sided solutions or enforced digitalization.

Hyperbola as project is depending on support from the community. To demand from people to act all-time “gratis” is not working as we have also payments and costs recurring: Infrastructure, energy and more. On that base financial support is needed, but to await also advantages donating towards Hyperbola as system-project does not work out and will not work out same way. Companies may surely grant support and helping hands, but do not have to await further advantages or paid integration of their developed software. Especially because Hyperbola is oriented on minimalism and technical emancipation all is going under those keywords.

We do not offer growing software-packages with outgrowing dependency-trees. We also do not offer overloaded projects with more outgrowth for integrated binaries, data and configurations.