The parent comment, however, was actually relevant to the point being discussed (whether or not the ability to fork a free-as-in-speech but not free-as-in-beer program is a significant risk to one's business model). Sarcasm or no, it's a valid point, and thus I feel trying to spout off admonitions in the name of the "HN community" is inappropriate in this context.
Yeah, this was iffy. I totally agree with the comment. But, when it comes to maintaining a community, it doesn't matter if you are right if you are a jerk about it.
For the discussion: I recently paid for the Synergy software KVM even though it is GPL. Synergy's purchase process is very smooth. Paying $10 for the installers was much easier than compiling it myself. And, I was already had confidence that Synergy was useful, good quality, well-maintained software. So, I was happy to support it as long as doing so was convenient.
