I Love the GPL (Except When it Applies to Me)
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I Love the GPL (Except When it Applies to Me)
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Re: I Love the GPL (Except When it Applies to Me)
#2I can't tell whether the angry/swearing diatribe tone is a dramatic effect or just lack of creativity/intelligence on behalf of the author.
Re: I Love the GPL (Except When it Applies to Me)
#3I can't tell whether the angry/swearing diatribe tone is a dramatic effect or just lack of creativity/intelligence on behalf of the author.
And his assertion about license proliferation is certainly not correct ref http://www.blackducksoftware.com/oss/licenses#top20
Re: I Love the GPL (Except When it Applies to Me)
#4I don't get his point. Does he think copyleft is a good ideal failed by the specific personalities of the current maintainers, or a flawed dream unable to survive in the reality of the economic marketplace? The essay feels unfocused and disorganized.
Now, I'm an open-minded child of the modern age and I don't agree with the oppressive old-fashioned idea that every essay must have a point. And truthfully this piece does bring up some interesting food for thought (the SaaS loophole). But it is nothing we haven't heard before, with less juvenile tone.
Re: I Love the GPL (Except When it Applies to Me)
#5I can't tell whether the angry/swearing diatribe tone is a dramatic effect or just lack of creativity/intelligence on behalf of the author.
And his assertion about license proliferation is certainly not correct ref http://www.blackducksoftware.com/oss/licenses#top20
Except, is that chart of how many projects use each license, or how much much use software with those licenses sees? Those could be very different. But ups for commenting on the substance rather than the style.
Re: I Love the GPL (Except When it Applies to Me)
#6Anybody who believes the GPL was invented to coerce users into sending patches ought to have their head examined.
Re: I Love the GPL (Except When it Applies to Me)
#7Anybody who believes the GPL was invented to coerce users into sending patches ought to have their head examined.
I might not agree with the GPL, but I'm pretty sure that the intent behind it is to encourage people to contribute back to the open source community (even if not by directly sending patches).
Re: I Love the GPL (Except When it Applies to Me)
#8I'm constantly struck by just how much of a turd the AGPL is -- it's a baldfaced EULA! It takes a huge leap beyond what is enforceable via straightforward copyright law and wallows right into the deep end of clickwrap licenses (the GPLv3 bullshit at least still hinges upon distribution).
With all other FOSS licenses, it's lazy bullshit to use them in the LICENSE field of your installer maker -- I absolutely do not have to accept the terms of the GPL to use your software, it's right there in the text of the license, so don't you dare make me click an 'I accept' checkbox.
With the AGPL it's absolutely necessary to do this, because I don't actually have The freedom to run the program, for any purpose
The RMS of twenty years ago would have never approved of such a thing, that he has lent it the imprimatur of the FSF now is testament to his intellectual bankruptcy.
The AGPL will never ever succeed. It will only ever be used by egotistical idiots and dying companies that wish to sear a scarlet letter into their code -- noone but I may profit directly from this work -- as you still retain copyright by default. Is the AGPL transitive across the network the way the GPL is by linking? It seems to me like either answer would show how poorly considered it is as a license.
Re: I Love the GPL (Except When it Applies to Me)
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
And his assertion about license proliferation is certainly not correct ref http://www.blackducksoftware.com/oss/licenses#top20
Except, is that chart of how many projects use each license, or how much much use software with those licenses sees? Those could be very different. But ups for commenting on the substance rather than the style.
Both Blackduck and Gartner Group are pushing a doomsday scenario of GPLv3 and the AGPL seeing surging use, respectively.
The patent / IP language in the GPLv3 still scares a lot of larger companies, my employer included. It's in Blackduck's commercial interest to present information in a way that exaggerates the prominence of that family of licenses. Thus, the chart is of the number of projects released under that license, and does not take into account the maturity or market penetration of a project. For instance, a new entry on Sourceforge with nothing but a README in its repo would be included in Blackduck's count.
That's not to say Blackduck itself is all bad, mind you. I've sat through a few Continuing Legal Education webinars that they've hosted, and they've all been quite objective and accurate. In each case, they brought in fairly prominent figures from the Open Source law space (Karen Copenhaver, Mark Radcliffe, etc) for the sessions.
Re: I Love the GPL (Except When it Applies to Me)
#10Anybody who believes the GPL was invented to coerce users into sending patches ought to have their head examined.
I might not agree with the GPL, but I'm pretty sure that the intent behind it is to encourage people to contribute back to the open source community (even if not by directly sending patches).
No. Look, it's right there in the preamble. First two sentences...