Christopher Sawtell wrote: [snip]
Whether or not the viral nature of the GPL ...
<rave>
The GPL is in no sense viral - this expression was a clever attack by Microsoft, and I'm sorry to see it used by supporters of F/OSS.
A virus enters an otherwise healthy system, and reproduces itself there. The GPL neither enters any other system, nor reproduces itself.
The GPL - like any other form of copyright - simply restricts the right to use, modify, and redistribute the software. I am no more allowed to modify, extend, and redistribute MS Word than I am OpenOffice, outside the terms of the copyright. The GPL affords me all sorts of freedom that Microsoft's proprietary licences do not.
</rave>
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