Decibel! wrote: > On Sat, Aug 18, 2007 at 11:26:34AM -0700, John Locke wrote: > >> As a commercial company, I prefer releasing code under the GPL instead >> of the LGPL (or the Apache or the BSD licenses, etc), simply because it >> prevents competitors from taking my code, extending it, and >> commercializing it without distributing their enhancements. The GPL >> keeps the playing field level, prevents my code from being unfairly used >> against me. As far as which version, I don't know enough about v3 to >> make an informed decision, so we're sticking to v2 for the time being. >> > > I view that argument as a variation on security through obscurity. If > another company can take code that you've written and do a better job of > selling it than you can then the problem isn't with them, or the > license... it's with your company. > > Well, the GPL doesn't prevent exactly that from happening. In fact, the GPL makes the playing field level so that those who can provide the best service can compete the best. I would argue that it keeps all the vendors honest--if your competitor can take your code, close it up, and sell it on the marketplace as "new and improved," enhanced with an NSA spy plugin nobody else knows about.... The "unfairly" word in my quote is crucial here. If you compete with me on a GPL-leveled playing field and win, more power to you. (Just like LSMB). If the fork then starts putting secret stuff and preventing other forks, now that's no longer fair to the original authors or the community as a whole. That's the point I was trying to make...
Cheers, -- John Locke "Open Source Solutions for Small Business Problems" published by Charles River Media, June 2004 http://www.freelock.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This SF.net email is sponsored by: Splunk Inc. Still grepping through log files to find problems? Stop. Now Search log events and configuration files using AJAX and a browser. Download your FREE copy of Splunk now >> http://get.splunk.com/ _______________________________________________ Ledger-smb-devel mailing list [email protected] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/ledger-smb-devel
