Re: GPL V3 and Linux

[Helge Hafting <helge.hafting@aitel.hist.no>]

Alexander Shishckin wrote:

> On 1/21/06, Chase Venters <chase.venters@clientec.com> wrote:
>  
>
> > On Friday 20 January 2006 20:27, Alexander Shishckin wrote:
> >    
> >
> > > GPLv3 tends to get on top of the most braindead things ever known to
> > > software development. It is, in fact, a one-too-many example of how a
> > > person who cannot be seriously considered to be a computer programmer
> > > tries to have his one-too-many revenge on companies which employ real
> > > software developers and produce real world software. Someone should
> > > probably put an end to these miserable efforts.
> > >      
> > Why does everyone assume that Stallman is out to 'get revenge' on companies?
> > Is his desire for freedom so hard to grasp and believe that all you can do is
> > spin it into silly conspiracies?
> >    
> Ain't that obvoius? Every second word that you read in GPLs is either
> 'freedom' or 'share' and the rest of the document has absolutely
> nothing to do with both, just restricting our *freedom* to *share*.
>  
Wrong.  The GPL does not in any way take away your *freedom to share*.
It does take away your freedom to *restrict* though, it limits your freedom
to *prevent others from sharing*.

What problem could you possibly have with that?  Licences are simple -
don't like them, don't use the product.  Why complain about it?

I don't like licences where I have to pay *money* just to get some software.
Expensive, and a waste if I end up not using that sw much.
So I try to avoid that kind when possible.  Fortunately, that is 
possible almost
all the time for me.

Now, if you don't like the GPL - don't use any GPL-licenced products then!
Why nag about it?  I don't bitch about how the "pay" licences limits my
business opportunities. (I cannot possibly afford to buy
every payware program.) In particular, I cannot sell PCs containing lots
of pay-licences software without actually _paying_, thereby driving up
the price.  But complaining about that would be silly.

The same applies to you.  If you want to include GPL stuff in a product,
then your product goes GPL too.  That is the _price_ for GPL code.  If that
price is too high for you, don't use GPL code then!  That should
be fine with you, and fine with us.  But again - complaining about it is 
silly.


> This is not exactly the way these words are meant to be used.
>
>  
>
> > Why do people not recognize that his GNU project has built significant things?
> > Do you not realize that Linux is licensed GPLv2, which is also Stallman's
> > license?
> >    
> Surely significant things/projects do have their origin there. This is
> yet another sad consequence. I hope we can someday get rid of all this
> 'GNU is ...' crap and build a better world that understands 'freedom'
> for what it really is, not just
> I'll-sue-you-should-you-use-my-code-in-your-proprietary-product stinky
> sort of thing.
>  
Well, write your own better licence then, and use it!  Then you'll have the
satisfaction of seeing others use your code in their proprietary products.
Nobody stops you from doing that.

Helge Hafting
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