Are monads an /advance/, or are they just a language feature that might be nice in some cases, pointless or harmful in others -- like any other feature?
It's not clear to me that category theory, functional programming, what have you, provide insight into why things work. In fact, it seems like they might cut the opposite way -- moving from vicissitudes to simple abstractions.
I agree that that is irksome. That being said, we're all victimized by commercial enterprises constantly -- it's difficult to see /this/ particular violation as uniquely worthy of outrage (although I confess that this is not a particularly good argument that FOSS violations are uniquely /un/worthy of outrage).
No, I benefit from free software every day. I'm glad that there's software that isn't encumbered by expensive licensing schemes. What I'm taking issue with is free software orthodoxy, or with the notion that there is some sort of "ethical" issue at play with software that is different from the ethical issues at play with the usage and distribution of /any/ kind of product. "Software freedom" is an odd end-unto-itself.
I gotta say that I think this is just not a big deal for most people. I understand that FOSS ideals have appeal, I understand why people would like them to be protected -- but at the end of the day, I do feel like FOSS advocates, as well-meaning as they are, are perhaps investing their concern in the wrong place. FOSS rhetoric is nice, but it just doesn't seem that important.