Patrick J. LoPresti writes: >> Simply put, any code which has a restricting license whatsoever is >> always less open or free than public domain to everyone for >> everyone. > >Not really. Let me use an analogy. > >When driving, you do not have the freedom to run over pedestrians. >Does that imply your driver's license is "less open or free" than one >which did not have this restriction? Perhaps, but only in the very >narrow sense which focusses on your freedom and ignores the big >picture. > >You might think this is a ridiculous example because "obviously" >everybody has a natural right to live. But to the authors of the GPL, >"obviously" everybody has a natural right to obtain, modify, and share >information. From this point of view, the GPL essentially says, "You >may do whatever you want with this code as long as you do not infringe >on other people's rights." (Analogy: You may drive however you want >provided that...) In the big picture, the GPL does not restrict >freedom; it preserves it. > >By *restricting* your freedom, driving laws *enhance* everybody >else's. Just like the GPL.
<snip> Logically this fails as a false analogy. The putative idea of PD or open source is to maximize help to all who could use it. The released source code is not a dangerous item to use nor one to be treated with great care and concern for others' safety. A driver's license, in opposition, limits users' access to an item which needs regulation, skill acquisition, and which has the very real potential to cause great harm and mayhem. Actualized potential, in fact, with an average 100 vehicular-related deaths per day in the USA alone. The two items being compared are 180 degrees out of sync. The intent of the first is be as free as possible for everyone. The intent of the second is to restrict usage as much as the populace will endure. While removing drivers licensing requirements would doubtless cause ten different kinds of bedlam, I have little doubt that doing so would actually increase the number of vehicle operators freely driving in an open manner, thereby supporting my point about public domain source code freedom even in the flawed analogy. Countries with lax driving laws seem to bear this out. That this situation is generally considered a fault is an issue outside of source code licensing considerations which have little intersection with bad driving problems. ------------------------------------------------------- SF.Net is sponsored by: Speed Start Your Linux Apps Now. Build and deploy apps & Web services for Linux with a free DVD software kit from IBM. Click Now! http://ads.osdn.com/?ad_id=1356&alloc_id=3438&op=click _______________________________________________ Freedos-devel mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-devel
