On Sep 26, 6:03 am, Chris Ahlstrom <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > After takin' a swig o' grog, The Ghost In The Machine belched out > this bit o' wisdom: > > > On Sep 25, 1:25 pm, David Kastrup <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >> Rjack <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > >> >>> Now it gobbles up your compiler too. > > >> > "If you have used a proprietary, third-party compiler to build the > >> > software, then you probably cannot ship it to your customers." > > >> > Cut the crap Hymen! The brave GNU World wants to control your > >> > compiler. > > >> "it" obviously means the proprietary, third-party compiler. Your > >> reading comprehension appears a bit sub-standard. > > > OK, I'm missing something here. > > You certainly are, Ghost. > > Rjack is a troll. Nothing more.
A troll espousing a concern, yes. Of course, two can play at that game, if one wants to dig, which I'm not all that willing to do at this point beyond mentioning that Microsoft has swallowed a fair bit of BSD code (e.g., the Win95 TCP/IP protocol stack -- though in all fairness, they did give proper credit. I think we can agree that the *compiler* cannot be shipped, though. There are some quibbles about the run-time environment, depending on the precise EULA thereon; ideally, if non-FOSS, it would be shipped under a license barring reverse engineering and modification but otherwise freely copyable, given proper crediting. Also, if one is trying to discredit the license, I for one would hope for an alternative such as the BSD license that would be usable in its stead (the BSD does not quite qualify, unfortunately, mostly because such code and has dropped into a nice deep hole, never to be seen by mortal man again). > > If any company has concerns about the GPL, they will run it by their > lawyers, not some Usenet wack job with a blatant agenda. Depending on company size, that may get into independent contractor space. Best I can do is mention Sun's interesting struggles with ensuring they do not lose control of Java's source code, with their JCP license; the results do not look very satisfactory from a redistribution standpoint although one can vet the code in the privacy of his bedroom/study/den/basement readily enough, if he should feel the need. AIUI, Microsoft has a process for individuals to vet their code as well, but they also have to sign a non-disclosure agreement, and contribute satisfactory remuneration. I seem to recall that AT&T had a similar policy with regard to old Unix code; for about $20K one could get the kit, but couldn't redistribute it. > > -- > Entreprenuer, n.: > A high-rolling risk taker who would rather > be a spectacular failure than a dismal success. _______________________________________________ gnu-misc-discuss mailing list [email protected] http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/gnu-misc-discuss
