Re: GPL version 4

[Bodo Eggert]

Morton Harrow [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

 I see with pain in my heart that the GPLv3 doesn't actually give the
 users of GPLv3 software the liberty and freedom the FSF has been
 fighting for. Instead they are forced to play by the strict set of
 terms the GPLv3 provides.
 
 For example, as a liberated computer user, I might like to incorporate
 a high quality piece of GPLv3 software in a commercial product,
 which for bussiness strategic reasons happens to be closed source software.
 But the GPLv3 denies my claim for this freedom to do this.

Would you grant me the freedom to give away your commercial product for free
or to incorporate it in my commercial product? Probably not. You'd instead
grant me less freedom. The GPL protects me from this.

Re: Wasting our Freedom

[Bodo Eggert]

Paul de Weerd [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 On Mon, Sep 17, 2007 at 03:38:45PM +0200, Adrian Bunk wrote:

 | It's not about lazyness of BSD developers, many people who consider the
 | BSD licence more free than the GPL argue that the advantage of the BSD
 | licence is that it does not require you to give back.
 | 
 | Something is wrong if your licence text clearly states that you do not
 | require getting anything back but you then argue on moral grounds that
 | something has to be given back.
 
 Something is wrong if your licence text clearly states that you MUST
 give back, but then you don't return the favour on grounds that hey,
 they don't require it, so we don't have to.

If you may demand me to give back, why should I(*) not demand the same thing
for my contributions?

You're not only asking to contribute to your project, but you're asking me
to throw my code to the feet of Apple amd Microsoft, who will user it, make
big bucks and lock out alternatives as far as possible, especially free ones.
This happens to not be my idea of sharing code.

You may say it's morally correct for them because they never claimed they'd
not suck your blood, but did the GPL people claim not to demand others to
give back? Au contrair, and if it's OK for companies to do what they say
they would, it will be OK for them and for me, too.


*) I did not yet work on a BSD licensed project, but let's asume I did

 It may be perfectly legal, but it's interesting to say the least.
 No, you do not have to give back. But weren't you open source / free
 software developers ? Why did you pick the GPL ? Because you didn't
 want someone to run of with your code ? You wanted code to be given
 back ? Why not do it yourself ?

 By not giving back you're giving a strange signal.

Gee, since you're demanding back anyway, you can use the GPL for your
project and use my contribution. Problem solved.

Oh, you want people to be free not to share? Freedom includes having the
moral right to do something. Am I free not to share? Or is this freedom
just an empty shell?

-- 
Funny quotes:
36. You never really learn to swear until you learn to drive.

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